I'll Be Your Knight
by Leonhart4
Summary: Remember when Squall told Rinoa that he'd be her knight even if she became the world's enemy? What if that really happened?
1. Risking it All

_Author's Note: This story is the sequel to "Seifer's Last Chance," and picks up right where it left off. If you haven't read it yet, I'd suggest doing so before reading this one. It can be found in my list of fics on this site._

Final Fantasy VIII

I'll Be Your Knight

Chapter 1- Risking it All 

I walked out of the Training Center that night drenched in sweat. My white undershirt was virtually transparent due to the vast amount of perspiration. It had been an intense duel between Seifer and me, which, unfortunately, ended in a deadlock. He had improved quite a bit since our last confrontation more than a year prior. 

Now we were both SeeDs, and that meant there might be the chance we'd end up working together. Quite frankly, I think it scared the crap out of both of us to think that we might actually have to…cooperate. Don't get me wrong. I didn't hold a grudge anymore because I could tell that he was a different man than before. However, some things never change. I didn't work well with him and Seifer didn't work well with anybody. On second thought, it was better than the possibility of him working with Zell. That would be a ticking time bomb waiting to go off at any moment.

As I walked toward the dormitory, I wiped my forehead with my gloved hand. My fingers ran across the scar, my permanent reminder of my rivalry with Seifer. My mind drifted back to that day before the SeeD field exam. That was really the beginning of everything that would eventually lead us into the distant future to defeat a sorceress bent on time compression. My life seemed to have progressed at an unstoppable pace since then. I commanded SeeD, and that meant it was rare to have some leisure time anymore. That night had been an immense relief, but I knew things would pick up again in the morning.

After the end of the war with Ultimecia, we were labeled saviors, and Garden was forced to abandon its indifferent standpoint on events due to the fact that other governments became reliant on us. They believed that only SeeD could provide sufficient defense against all of the world's threats. Sometimes, I wish it wasn't like that. It was a huge burden that had been laid squarely on my shoulders, and I simply couldn't refuse responsibility. Being the leader of the elite mercenary force, I was constantly busy with international affairs. I had learned how to deal with it, but it was extremely difficult in the beginning.

I continued to walk down the dimly lit, empty hall that led to my room. I was so deep in thought that I didn't even notice Rinoa standing at my doorstep until I almost bumped into her. "Looks like you've been thinking too much again," she said with a smile.

She had really filled out over the past year. She had let her hair grow out even longer, and it was halfway down her back. There were still streaks of brown here and there mixed in with the raven black. Rinoa had managed to put on some muscle from fighting in the Training Center. She had no intention of becoming a SeeD due to the destructive threat her sorceress powers bore, but she knew that she needed to be able to defend herself in the case of invasion or some maniac who resented her because of who she was. It was a definite possibility considering what had happened over the past year, and we both knew that.

"Sorry," I apologized. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I tried to get in, but your door was locked," she joked with her gorgeous smile.

I smiled, too. I couldn't help it. She was the most amazing woman I had ever met, and solely responsible for managing to bring me out of my self-imposed shell. A little bit anyway. It was still a work in progress, but it was becoming easier to confide in my friends. The change was very noticeable at least.

"I keep forgetting to get you an extra key made," I said.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it," she said, waving it off. "So did you win?"

"Of course."

I couldn't tell her it was a deadlock and give Seifer the benefit of the doubt. I knew he wouldn't be telling anyone that it was a draw.

"I knew you would. You're the greatest, Squall," Rinoa said, followed by a quick peck on the lips. "You look tired though. You should get some rest."

"Yeah…" I agreed. I was ready to fall asleep right there.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me close to her. She kissed me passionately, which I gladly reciprocated. As we broke off the kiss, she placed her mouth next to my ear and softly whispered, "I love you."

I wasn't sure of what to say. It was the first time she had told me that. I think my eyes bulged, but I wasn't aware of it. We had both agreed that we were going to take this relationship slowly, which was why it wasn't progressing in leaps and bounds. Maybe I was afraid of serious commitment, or maybe I just wasn't ready. I didn't know at the time. I knew that I loved Rinoa, too, but I wondered if I was ready to say so. 

As she pulled away, she seemed to be reading my mind. "You don't have to say it back. It's just…something to think about," she said with a wink. "Night, Squall." She waved and blew a kiss at me.

Then she turned around and began to walk to her room. I watched her leave until she entered her room, which was at the other end of the hall. She wasn't a SeeD, so she didn't have priority for single dorms. The only other room available when she first came to Balamb Garden was a double with Brianna Harris, a SeeD candidate who had failed the last exam.

I took the room key out of my pocket, unlocked the door, and entered my room. Turning on the light, I immediately headed for the bathroom, where I washed off my face. I dried off with a small towel and then headed for bed. I was burning up, so I took off my leather jacket and sweat-stained white shirt. I would have to change into another shirt anyway. After unhooking my necklace with the Griever pendant, I laid it on my nightstand. Then I flipped off the light switch and went to bed.

I was awakened in the morning by Headmaster Cid's voice over the intercom. "Squall, report to my office immediately!"

It sounded urgent, so it seemed like he wanted more than to get updated on Garden business. I rolled out of bed and fumbled through my drawer for a clean shirt. After finding one, I put it on, and then slipped on my jacket and necklace. I left my room and headed for the elevator at a quick pace. I jogged up the stairs that led to it and stepped on. I rode the lift up to the third floor.

As the doors opened, I walked out, still wondering what the headmaster wanted to see me about. I pushed open the double doors that led to the bridge, and found Xu, Nida, and Quistis standing at the bottom of the lift, which was unusual.

"Morning, Commander," they said in unison.

I frowned. I still hated being called that and they knew it, so there was nothing I could do about it. "What are you doing down here?" I inquired.

"Headmaster Cid told us that what he had to discuss with you was a private matter," Xu informed me.

Without another word, I stepped onto the lift and rode it up. It was quickly becoming more than a routine visit to the bridge, and something deep inside troubled me. At the top, I immediately met the headmaster's gaze and gave the SeeD salute. He smiled, but it was obvious that it was forced. Something was wrong.

"Yes, sir?"

He sighed and adjusted his glasses before beginning. "Last night, while all of you were at the SeeD ball, I received a message from the Odine Laboratory in Esthar. It turns out that, before his incarceration, Doctor Odine had invented a machine that could rid Rinoa of her sorceress powers forever without transferring them to someone else," Headmaster Cid revealed.

_(What's so bad about that?)_ I wondered. Then I realized that there was a catch as his expression became gravely serious. I remained silent as I waited for him to continue.

"However, the problem is…The extraction process will…take her life."

_(What?!)_ "Why are you telling me this, sir? There's no way we can even consider this," I told him.

"It's not a consideration, Squall. It's an order."

"…What do you mean, sir?" I inquired curiously. I had no idea what he was trying to say.

"As you well know, the sorceress strikes fear into the hearts of the people. After the war, it seemed to become even worse. There was a dangerous sorceress far into the future that we were unable to reach, but she could get to us. The people want to do whatever it takes to prevent Rinoa's powers from ever getting there. They've demanded that we hand her over to them," he replied. "I'm sorry, Squall. I don't want to do this either, but we have no choice. We must comply."

I was infuriated. Actually, that was a drastic understatement. There was no way I was going to let some unruly mob take my girlfriend's life just so their fears can be assuaged. Besides, why were we going to rely on some machine made by some whacko? Odine was a quack, and I knew that first-hand. 

"No! I won't let you do this! It's insane!"

"I don't need to remind you that refusal to obey can result in indefinite suspension and being removed from your command," Headmaster Cid said.

"I don't care! I won't let Rinoa die!" I exclaimed and rode the lift down.

I barged out of the room and into the elevator without hesitation. After reaching the bottom floor, I rushed back to the dormitory and knocked on Rinoa's door. After a few moments, she opened it, rubbing her eyes and appearing very tired.

"Squall? What is it?" She noticed my angry expression as I breathed heavily without a word. "What's wrong?"

"We have to go now," I said, managing to at least sound calm.

"Why? What happened?" she asked in confusion.

"I'll explain later, but trust me…We need to leave right now!"

She knew that something was amiss, so she nodded in agreement. I ran off toward the parking lot and she willingly followed, forgetting to shut the door to her room.

As we moved, I began to wonder what I was doing. I was risking losing everything I'd earned as a member of SeeD, all because of Rinoa. She caused me to do things I normally wouldn't do for anyone, especially when it involved my professional life. She brought out the spontaneous side of me, no matter how small it was. Strangely enough, after thinking it through rationally, I didn't regret what I was about to do. 

We hurried into the parking lot, where the Ragnarok was stationed. We'd had this section of the Garden remodeled to fit the airship, and added a compartment that opened up to allow it to exit safely. We boarded the vessel and moved to the bridge. I hopped into the pilot seat and buckled my seatbelt.

"Do you know how to fly this?" Rinoa asked, placing her hands onto the back of the seat.

"Yeah, Selphie taught me," I assured her.

I started up the engine and the back wall began to spread apart while the airship began to lift up off of the ground. Once it was completely opened, I hit the boosters and the Ragnarok sped out of the Garden. Rinoa held tightly onto the seat to maintain her balance until we leveled off and stayed at a constant speed.

"So…Care to enlighten me as to what we're doing?" she asked.

I took a deep breath, and kept my eyes on the sky ahead of us. I didn't want to see the expression on her face when I told her this. "Listen, Rinoa…Doctor Odine made some invention that would take away your sorceress powers forever, but it'd end up killing you, too. Because of all the pressure put onto Headmaster Cid, he ordered me to hand you over to Esthar…" I began to explain.

"Is that why you brought me here?" she interrupted. "You're gonna turn me into them?" She began to cry, and it hurt me severely to even hear it. "I guess you don't have a choice though. It's your job…"

"No! That's not it at all!" I intervened. "We're running away from them so that doesn't happen. You know I'd never let anything like that happen to you," I said in an attempt to comfort her.

Amazingly, she stopped weeping and stepped over to my side. Rinoa wiped the tears from her eyes and looked into mine. "Thank you, Squall," she said gratefully.

"Don't mention it. I only did what I wanted to do," I dismissed.

I caught her smiling out of the corner of my eye. Then it quickly faded as she considered our current predicament. "What's gonna happen to us now?"

"For now, we'll need to find a place to hide from Garden and Esthar. There's no doubt that SeeD will come looking for us," I replied.

"But what about your position as SeeD Commander?" she asked curiously.

"I don't think that means anything now. They'll disregard anything I say to them if they find us. Headmaster Cid will probably take that position away from me anyhow."

Rinoa smiled brightly, realizing what I had done. "You gave up everything…just for me?" She sounded surprised, but I couldn't exactly blame her.

"Yeah…"

She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "So where are we headed?" she asked.

I weighed each of the options in my mind. _(Can't go to Deling City, Timber, or Winhill…Matter of fact, nowhere in Galbadia would be safe for a SeeD or sorceress these days. We can't go to Balamb. There aren't many places to hide in a small port town like that. Besides, they all know Zell. They'd definitely tell him about us if he came. Edea's house would be too obvious. That'll likely be one of the first places they look.)_ I thought. 

That eliminated almost all of our possible options. _(There's only one man that I can hope to trust outside of Garden, but it'll be a little tricky getting there. It seems like our only choice though.)_

"Any ideas?" Rinoa asked after a few moments of thought.

"We're going to Esthar," I said, setting the autopilot for our destination.

"Esthar?!" she repeated in disbelief. "Won't everyone there be looking for us? That's the most dangerous place we could go!"

"But it's also the safest. There's only one safe haven available to us," I said. "We're going to see Laguna."


	2. First Day

Chapter 2- First Day 

After our duel that night, I stayed behind momentarily as Squall left. I examined a rip in my trenchcoat near my ribs on the right side. His gunblade had torn the hole after a mental mistake had given him an open shot. The tip sliced through the garment, and that was the only lapse by either one of us. In a real battle, he would've beaten me right there. I growled in frustration, not because of the even result, but because I liked that trenchcoat.

Shaking my head, I exited the training center and headed to the dormitory. I thought about all of the events that had transpired that day. I was finally a SeeD, which I had aspired to become for as long as I could remember. I wanted to be famous, to be noticed, and to be recognized by the world as a hero. This was my chance to become more than the sorceress' knight, although I knew some people would never forget. Most importantly, I had proved my doubters wrong, which I would continuously shove in their faces for the rest of their natural lives, especially Xu. That reminded me to brag about that to her the next day. I smirked as I imagined the scowl on her face. I had seen her at the SeeD ball that night, but I think she was deliberately dodging me to avoid hearing it from me. There was no way she was gonna get away with that.

As I came closer to the dorms, I was saw Squall talking to Rinoa in the distance. I froze in my steps and watched them with curiosity. I was too far to hear what was being said, but close enough to see their facial expressions. After a moment, I saw Squall do something that I could never recall coming from him. He smiled. 

That woman had definitely changed him, and I knew from experience that she was capable of that. She was fun to be with, but I was aware that it wasn't meant to be. I still felt something for Rinoa, but I was unsure exactly of what it was. I could tell it wasn't love because I never truly loved her. It was hard to put my finger on, but there was something that set her apart from the rest. He was lucky to have her.

I saw her kiss him once quickly, and then they kissed affectionately for a little bit. I rolled my eyes and looked away. That wasn't something I wanted to watch. After I caught them break it off in the corner of my eye, I turned and saw the sorceress whisper something in his hear. Then I saw Squall's eyes widen in shock. I had to contain my laughter to avoid being overheard. She must have leveled the SeeD Commander with something that he wasn't expecting because that expression was priceless. I wondered what Rinoa had told him.

As she pulled away, she appeared to be teasing him by blowing him a kiss and then strutting away seductively. He stared longingly after her for a very long time.

_(Squall…Hopelessly in love…Who'd have ever thought the day would come?)_ I mused with a grin.

Then he entered his room and closed the door behind. I walked through the quiet hallway. The only sound penetrating the silence was my footsteps, which were almost noiseless as it was. I ran my hand through my hair, which was sticking up in the air due to the dried sweat. I would definitely have to fix that. It seemed like I was a mess, which I hated. As odd as it seemed, I was actually a neat person, at least about certain things. My hair was one of them.

As I approached my door, I pulled out my room key. I slid it into the lock, turned the handle, and then pushed it open. Flicking on the light switch, I tossed the key over to the nightstand. It landed on the edge, and then bounced a couple of times before stopping in the center. I headed into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. I splashed some cold water into my face and hair. Looking into the mirror, I patted the blond strands with my hands until they finally managed to lie down.

I walked toward the bed with water dripping down my face. Remembering the rip in my trenchcoat, I sighed and took it off, hanging it on the wall. I turned off the light and got into bed.

That night, I had a dream. Squall was standing in front of Rinoa with his gunblade drawn. He was bent over and appeared very weak and desperate for air, while she was obviously very terrified, with tears streaming down her cheeks. It reminded me of guarding Ultimecia in Galbadia Garden, only that sorceress always looked cruel and uncaring.

I charged at him with Hyperion in hand. I struck him down and he fell silently onto his back. However, my expression wasn't one of triumph, but of pity, like I regretted what I had just done. Then I grabbed Rinoa by the wrist and dragged her with me against her will, as her crying became uncontrollable, prolonged sobs.

I snapped up to a sitting position in my bed, breathing heavily. I turned around and gazed out my window. The sun had just begun to creep over the horizon. I placed a hand on my forehead and started to think about the dream I just had.

_(What was that…? I've never had a dream where I actually pitied Squall once I finally defeated him…And why was Rinoa there with him? Was it like a vision, something that's actually gonna happen?)_ I chucked briefly out loud at the absurdity of the idea. _(Not likely…We're both SeeDs now. We can't be enemies anymore. Maybe it's something symbolic, like I want to get rid of Squall and take Rinoa back. But I don't want that. The thought of them together doesn't bother me.)_

I got out of my bed and slipped my trenchcoat on, my fingers running across the noticeable rip the SeeD Commander had made. _(Maybe I'm thinking too hard and it's just a normal dream…But it's too weird to be only that. There's gotta be some meaning behind it. No use thinkin' about it though. I got more important things to do.)_

I grabbed my room key from the nightstand and slid it into my pocket as I walked out the door. I strolled across the hall and knocked on Fujin and Raijin's door. There was no answer, so I incessantly pounded on it, not stopping until my silver-haired friend opened the door.

"MORNING."

I stepped inside to find the other member of my posse lying in bed on his bed. I frowned and shook my head in disappointment. In between his loud snoring, I could hear him mumbling in his sleep.

"Fujin, get the list," I ordered.

She nodded and wordlessly grabbed the clipboard with the piece of paper attached. I stood over Raijin's bed and listened to him ramble on endlessly.

"Yeah…I'd love some more…ya know. That's good…ya know."

I glanced over at Fujin and said, "Do it."

She nodded her comprehension and proceeded to thwap him in the back of the head with the clipboard. She didn't hold back; the sound echoed in the room. 

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" The bronze-skinned man grabbed the back of his head and began to squirm due to the pain. He fell out of the bed and landed on the floor at our feet.

"Rise and shine," I said with a grin.

Raijin slowly stood up, stumbling as he tried to maintain balance, and looking very dazed. "Morning already? But I'm still seein' stars, ya know," he muttered. Maybe she hit him too hard.

"Come on. Our Disciplinary Committee duties await. Since it's my first full day as a SeeD, we need to pick up the pace. We'll need to be more harsh on enforcing the rules, too," I stated.

"AFFIRMATIVE."

We exited their room and headed for the cafeteria to monitor breakfast, the busiest time of the morning. Raijin still seemed a little confused, as he was having trouble walking straight. Fujin definitely hit him too hard. We entered the crowded cafeteria, amid the chatter drifting through the air. As we walked by the tables, I spotted fellow new SeeD Michon Krown sitting by herself and wearing her uniform proudly as she ate. Upon seeing me, she rolled her eyes in annoyance, causing me to halt immediately.

I stared down at her and gave her a strict warning. "Don't disrespect the Disciplinary Committee."

"Shove it, Seifer," she retorted.

"That's it! Detention now!" I said angrily.

"You're full of it," she said.

"Am I? I wouldn't take that risk. I'd hate to have to report you and get your SeeD rank lowered," I threatened seriously.

"Yeah, right," Michon said, laughing nervously and trying not to appear intimidate. "I-I have to go!" 

She hurried out of the cafeteria, leaving her tray on the table. Raijin snatched her carton of orange juice and began sipping casually. _(I love this job.)_ I thought with a smirk.

That was when I heard Cid's announcement over the intercom. "Squall, report to my office immediately!"

We moved along, continuing our patrol. None of Squall's friends showed up while I was in there, and it was boring. Nothing else happened, as if they were making sure they didn't do anything questionable. Everything seemed to come to a standstill once we heard an engine loudly start up and then zoom away speedily. It must've been the Ragnarok, but I wondered where why anyone would be using it so early in the morning.

"What's going on?" I said quietly to nobody in particular.

After a few minutes passed, Cid came over the intercom again with another announcement. "I need Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt, Irvine Kinneas, and Seifer Almasy to come to my office on the double!"

Looking over at Fujin and Raijin, I said, "Keep up the patrol. I'm leavin' it to you!"

"AFFIRMATIVE!"

"Roger, ya know!"

I rushed off, expecting this calling to be involved in some way with the departure of the airship. _(When Cid told me last night he might have to send me outta here the next day, he wasn't kidding!)_ I thought.

Reaching the elevator, I stepped on alone and rode it to the top in silence. As the doors slid open, I walked out and then pushed out the next set. I found the rest of them waiting for me, along with Quistis, Xu, and the Garden pilot. I could never remember that guy's name. 

As I joined them, I intentionally bumped into Xu. "Outta the way! I'm here on SeeD business," I said. Then I heard her mutter under her breath and call me a jerk. I chuckled with satisfaction.

"That's enough!" my former instructor reprimanded, as serious and stern as ever.

"Now that we're all here, I'll fill you in on the situation," Cid started. "I called Squall up to the office this morning to inform him of a situation that was brought to my attention last night. Scientists in the Odine Laboratory explained to me last night that Doctor Odine had invented a machine that would remove Rinoa's sorceress powers without transferring them to another host. However, the process would ultimately take her life. 

"Receiving disagreement from Squall, I informed him that we were being given no choice other than to hand her over to Esthar authorities. We have to bend to the will of the people since we are dependant upon them to keep this institution running. But Squall would not obey, so he fled in the Ragnarok, presumably with Rinoa."

Gasps of surprise and various comments emanated from the others.

"No way! I don't like the idea anymore than he does, but I can't believe Squall would run off like that!" the Chicken-Wuss said.

"I can't blame him for being angry, but running away? That's not like him," the cowboy said.

"This is so not Squall to intentionally go against orders! Why would he do that?!" Selphie said.

The general consensus was that this was not typical of him, and I had to agree. Knowing the effect that Rinoa can have on someone, it wasn't entirely unexpected though.

"What are we going to do to resolve this situation?" Quistis inquired.

"That's why I called each of you up here. We cannot let Squall and Rinoa get away from us. The five of you must hunt them down, by any means necessary. Once you have Rinoa, turn her into the Odine Laboratory and they will take care of the rest. Normally, I wouldn't ask such a thing of you all, but I don't think anyone else is as qualified for the job. You know him better than anyone else," Cid said.

His friends all hung their heads sadly, while I remained nonchalant, at least on the outside. I couldn't let them see that this actually bothered me, too.

"What a way to start the day…" Irvine commented.

"No kiddin'," Zell agreed, "but orders are orders."

"It's not gonna be easy to find them without the Ragnarok," Selphie stated.

"Didn't you have a tracking device installed?" Quistis asked.

"Yeah, but Squall knows about it. He probably disabled it," she replied.

"I can't believe that Squall, our leader, is our enemy now," the Chicken-Wuss said, still shocked. "Hey! What about his post as commander?"

"A replacement won't be assigned until your mission is accomplished. Until then, Xu, Nida, and I will be in charge," Cid answered.

"Wait, I just thought of somethin'," Zell interjected. "What if we, uh…encounter resistance?"

"As I told you before, we must succeed by any means necessary, and that includes lethal force if it comes to that," he responded. Their spirits seemed to sink even lower, if it was possible. They all just stared at the ground, not wanting to look at each other. "And it's because of that fact that I've assigned…Seifer as the squad leader."


	3. The Next Step

Chapter 3- The Next Step 

I was deep in thought the entire trip. I was hoping that some guy I had only met a few times outside of Ellone's special power would save us from those who would inevitably attempt to chase us down. He was the president of Esthar, the country that was searching for us. It was a big risk, so I wondered why I was willing to take it. It could potentially cost Rinoa's life. Maybe it was because Laguna was my father, and I knew he would do anything to protect those closest to him. Well, I was his only son, and my instincts were telling me he wouldn't let us down.

Of course, I had my doubts. After all, Laguna was the president of Esthar, and he had to listen to his people. He didn't raise me either, and we barely had an opportunity to get to know each other. Why was I so certain he would help us? I wasn't sure. I didn't let Rinoa outwardly see that I was having qualms about the situation, since she was depending on me to keep her safe from harm. I was her knight, and there was no way I was going to let anyone take her away from me. Even if it meant my own life, I would protect her. However, Rinoa had an uncanny ability to see through my façade of calmness and noticed something was bothering me.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"…What do you mean?" I asked, trying to act like there was no problem.

"Don't give me that, Squall. I can tell something's troubling you."

I remained silent for a few moments, and then the spectacular technologically advanced country came into view. "…I need to send the Presidential Palace a transmission to let them know I'm coming," I said, eager to change the subject.

"What for? Why are you gonna alert them to our presence?" Rinoa asked, puzzled.

"I said I need to tell them that I am coming, not you," I clarified. "We need to contact Laguna before we land. We can't just roam the city."

"Yeah…You're right," she agreed.

Using the radio, I sent a signal to the Presidential Palace, and waited patiently for a response.

_(Good thing I got Zell to show me how to use this thing. I wouldn't have had a clue otherwise.)_ I thought.

A few moments later, I heard a voice crackling over the intercom speaker. "This is the Esthar Presidential Palace. Please state your business before we allow you to enter our borders," a polite male voice requested.

"This is SeeD leader Squall Leonhart, calling from the Ragnarok," I replied.

"Ah, Commander Leonhart, we've been expecting you. Have you brought the Sorceress Rinoa with you?" he asked curiously.

_(Why does everyone call me that?)_ The brief thought crossed my mind before focusing on the task before me.

"No, but I need to speak with President Loire. I have some private matters to discuss with him," I told him.

There was a brief delay before the man spoke again. "…I-I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Just get him please," I said curtly. "It's important."

"Right away, sir!"

Then there was silence. I turned and looked over at Rinoa, and she smiled supportively with a glimmer of hopefulness in her eyes. I gazed down at the floor as I waited for a reply on the transmission. I couldn't let her down; I'd never forgive myself if I did. I refused to allow myself to fail her. A few moments later, I heard a familiar voice over the intercom.

"Squall? It's me, Laguna."

"Hey…" I hesitated. I wasn't sure if I should call him "Dad" or whatever. It didn't really seem appropriate. "…Listen, are you alone?"

"Yeah…" he answered, sounding confused. "Why?"

"I have a favor to ask of you…Can I trust you?" I just had to pose that question.

"Of course. You can tell me anything," he replied with sincerity.

I let out a sigh. _(Here goes nothing.)_

"This is between us only. I have Rinoa with me, and we're on the run from Balamb Garden. I couldn't turn her in and lose her, but now we have nowhere to go. I was wondering…"

"Say no more, Squall. I understand totally. You wanna protect Rinoa, and I can't blame you. You gotta protect the ones you love and stand up for what you believe in. Leave it to me. I'll personally see to it that you're safe," Laguna assured.

"Thank you, D…Laguna, but what do you plan to do?" I inquired curiously.

"We'll figure something out. Land at the Airstation, and I'll get Kiros and Ward to give you a private escort to my office. No one'll even know Rinoa's in our borders. I'll see ya soon."

With that, communication ceased and I let out an immense sigh of relief. Rinoa giggled briefly at my rare outward display of emotion, and I could tell that she was just as relieved as I was. It was good to hear her laugh. It cheered me up a little bit, which she could do at almost any time with regularity.

"Looks like everything's gonna be fine," she said.

"For now, at least," I added.

We both knew that we couldn't hide in Esthar forever. It would only be a matter of time before we were found. I wondered if there was truly a place where we could avoid contact with the rest of the world, and I figured it was highly unlikely. Rinoa ran her hand through my hair playfully and kissed me on the forehead.

"Thank you so much, Squall. You've done so much for me," she said gratefully.

"Ah, forget about it. It's nothing," I waved off.

"No, it isn't. Who knows where I'd be without you. I'd probably be dead," she stated.

I hardly knew what to say about that. "…I think you would've been fine without me, Rinoa," I commented. "You're a strong woman."

"Not nearly as strong without you. Remember during the conflict between Balamb and Galbadia Gardens, when I was hanging on a ledge after a piece of the Quad was broken off? You saved me then. Who would've if you didn't?" she reminded. "Nobody but you, Squall. Only you could've done it. Remember when you saved me from the Iguions in Deling City? I couldn't fight alone. I'm only brave in battle when I'm with you. You make me strong."

I remained silent after that, but I wished I could've told her how I felt as well. I had vivid memories of that experience she spoke of in the battle between the Gardens. When she fell into a coma, that settled my feelings, but that event seemed to set the wheels in motion. I wanted to be able to tell her that, but the words couldn't find their way out of my mouth. I knew she cared a lot about me, but maybe I didn't truly understand how much and what I meant to her. That speech gave me a slight idea of that. 

We flew over the magnificent capital city of Esthar and I let the autopilot guide us to the Airstation as the two of us stared at the scenery. Rinoa wrapped her arms around my neck affectionately and rested her head on my shoulder as she sat down on my lap. I had to admit that I enjoyed it. It was very calming and soothed my nerves.

The Ragnarok halted and hovered over the landing pad. I gently put it down and cut the engine off. Once we came to a complete stop, she let go of me and stood up as I unbuckled my seatbelt and rose to my feet as well.

"Rinoa, wait here. I'm gonna get out and wait for Kiros and Ward to show up," I said, and she nodded, giving me a quick kiss. 

Then I exited the dragon-like airship and walked out onto the blue streets of Esthar. I scanned the area, searching for Laguna's friends as a gentle breeze swept over my face and slightly brushed my hair back.

_(I hope this works. It has to. This is our only chance.)_ I mused.

After a few minutes, a large gray vehicle rapidly approached the Airstation. It slammed on the brakes suddenly right in front of the entrance. I knew it was them. Kiros and Ward stepped out, wearing those odd looking robes that most of the citizens wore. They seemed kind of uncomfortable to me. The thin former Galbadian soldier had another one neatly folded and tucked under his right arm.

"Where is she?" he asked in a whisper.

I motioned for them to follow me and I led them into the Ragnarok. We went to where Rinoa was anxiously awaiting my return.

"Laguna has informed us about your situation. Don't worry. We'll get you into the Presidential Palace without a problem," Kiros said confidently.

He handed the long white robe to her and she immediately slipped it on over her clothes. Even so, she still seemed to appear different than the average citizen of Esthar.

"Put the hood on and just keep your head down. Don't make eye contact with anyone. If they see us with you, we can get into Laguna's office without any questions," Kiros informed.

Rinoa nodded her comprehension and we followed them out of the Airstation. We stepped into their car, which had more space inside of it than it appeared on the outside. However, having to sit in the back seat behind Ward did make it a little more cramped for me. I looked over as she slid the hood off of her head and ran her hands through her hair. She glanced over at me as well and smiled.

"These clothes feel weird," she commented, brushing her hands over them. It was obvious that she was trying to avoid thinking about our current predicament. 

"You'll get used to it," Kiros remarked.

I wanted to forget about everything as well, but I couldn't. Even if our mission succeeded, the repercussions were great for me. I had been raised in Balamb Garden for most of my life, while she had only been living there for about a year. My life had been as a student in training and as a SeeD. Adjusting to a different lifestyle would be very difficult for me, and I knew I could never go back.

Rinoa reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it softly. I gently ran my thumb over her hand, almost instinctively. The vehicle moved smoothly across the roads without a single bump, which made an uncomfortable ride at least slightly more bearable. I gazed out of the window at the fascinating city of Esthar speeding by me and became lost in thought.

Once more, I began to question if I was doing the right thing. I wondered if I would be able to go back to Balamb Garden if the situation was ever safely resolved. What were my comrades thinking? Were they angry or just thinking I'd gone crazy? Rinoa tapped me on the shoulder and snapped me out of my daze. I turned to look at her blankly.

"You're thinking too much again," she said.

"Sorry about that…" I apologized.

"It's okay. I understand why you're so pensive." Nothing needed to be said to know we had the same concerns.

We came to a sudden halt right outside of the Presidential Palace. Rinoa released her grip on my hand and slid the hood over her head to conceal her face once more. Kiros and Ward got out first and held the doors open for us.

"Well, here goes…" she said.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out and kept her eyes aimed at the ground. Then I slid out and stretched after leaving that cramped vehicle. Despite its enormous size, Esthar hardly defined a "hustle and bustle" city. Although its citizens were roaming the streets, but there was hardly a sound being made anywhere. I could easily hear the wind sweeping through my hair.

As soon as Kiros and Ward closed the doors, we began walking toward the palace. The two of them walked in between us and one step ahead. My eyes were fixed straight ahead, never looking at Rinoa the entire time. No one stopped us and we walked into the president's main office with no questions asked. The transparent floor lit up brightly as soon as we stepped onto it, and standing in front of his desk was Laguna.

"Lock the doors. Make sure no one gets it," he ordered.

Kiros and Ward nodded their comprehension and exiting the room, shutting the doors behind them.

"You can take the hood off now."

Rinoa removed the hood and ran her hands through her beautiful black hair once again.

"Well, uh…It's good to see you two again," Laguna started, trying to make small talk.

"Yeah…" I said.

I noticed Rinoa was shuffling her feet nervously and staring at the floor.

"I guess we ought to get down to business then. Obviously you can't stay here forever, but Garden probably won't be able to make it here for a while. So you're safe here, at least for one day. Then we'll need to figure out the next step," he said.

"That would be deciding where we can go from here," I mused.

"Right. If we still had the Lunar Base, this wouldn't be a problem, so that's not an option anymore," Laguna stated.

"There aren't many options available to us," I said.

"Yeah, I've noticed. I've been trying to think of a place you can go ever since you told me about all of this. I'm stumped," he confessed, which wasn't exactly uncommon for him.

"There's gotta be something we can do," Rinoa remarked.

"Like I said before, we've got some time to think of something. No hurry right now," he said in an attempt to comfort us. "It'd take SeeD nearly a day to get here, and that's only if Balamb Garden was stationed at Fisherman's Horizon right now. I don't think they'll look here for a while."

"You're probably right," I agreed. "They'll check the obvious locations before coming here."

Laguna grinned as he stroked his hair out of his face. "You can stay in here tonight. I'll provide you some pillows and blankets. No one can get in besides Kiros and Ward without my permission. So you're safe here."

"…For now," I added.

All of us knew that this was only the beginning.


	4. Asserting Leadership

# Chapter 4- Asserting Leadership

As soon as Cid's words had left his mouth, the incredulous cries of disagreement rang through the room simultaneously.

"WHAT?!"

"There is NO way!"

"You can't be serious!"

"This isn't a wise decision!"

Xu seemed to be the most outraged of all. "Are you sure about this, Headmaster?! Trusting a man like…him," he said, saying the last word contemptuously, "to lead this qualified group of SeeDs on such an important mission! Who knows what he might do! He's still as reckless as he ever was, and he proved that during the exam! I beg you to reconsider!"

"What's the matter, Xu? Jealous that I've caught my big break so soon while you're still struggling with mediocrity as a SeeD?" I said with a satisfied smirk.

Her open hand came so fast that I didn't even see it until it met my cheek, but I wasn't fazed by the slap, even if it did hurt. "Shut up, Seifer!" she retorted furiously.

"Xu, stand down now!" Cid said with a quiet, yet somehow commanding voice. She ended her tirade and focused her attention on him as he continued to speak. "I knew that this would be a controversial decision, but it is the best course of action. I have thought this through several times carefully, and this seems to be the most beneficial choice."

He was taking a big risk with me. Everyone knew that, myself included. I figured he was looking for a leader who wouldn't show sympathy for Squall and Rinoa when the time came. I realized that this could result in great things for me if I was successful. Fame and redemption for my actions were within my reach, and I knew I couldn't fail. I didn't care about Garden's mission and reputation. I was going to do this solely for me.

Hunting down my life-long rival seemed to be a fitting task, but the hate I felt for him was no longer there. I couldn't back down though. I'd just have to do it and hopefully, in the heat of battle it wouldn't be as much of a problem. Naturally, on the outside, I couldn't let them see the turmoil I was experiencing due to this. I wasn't able to imagine how they would have reacted if they knew that I actually had a conscious. Actually, I was pretty shocked myself to find this causing so much difficulty for me.

"Seifer Almasy…I leave everything in your hands," Cid finished. "Good luck."

(Luck? Ha, luck isn't what saves you from the enemy's blade. It's your own skill as a warrior. There's no such thing as luck.) I mused.

"Don't wish me luck," I warned. "I hate that."

The rest of the group seemed annoyed by the remark as they rolled their eyes, but I didn't really care. If I could get under their skin, that gave me the advantage. That was why Squall was my fiercest opponent. I couldn't mess with his mind or rattle him once he got that serious and determined look on his face. 

"So…Where are we off to first?" Quistis inquired, trying to get down to business.

"I think Edea's house would be a good place to start," Irvine suggested.

"Good idea. Does that sound like a plan to you, Seifer?" my former instructor asked. She didn't pose the question to me because she, in any way, wanted or cared for my input, but because it was her duty to get confirmation from the squad leader.

"Fine by me," I said.

I honestly had no idea where to look for them, so that sounded just as good as anything else. I wanted to assert my position as the leader at that moment, but without anything valid to contribute, I decided to keep my mouth shut. Quistis and Xu rode the life up and relayed the order to that Garden pilot guy, whatever his name was.

"Now I guess we just…wait," Zell said, the tone in his voice indicating that he was as thrilled with the idea as I was.

"Great…" I said sarcastically. The only thing the Chicken-Wuss and I had in common was our lack of any sort of patience.

Sighing quietly, I walked off, getting onto the elevator and riding down to the first floor. All of them were probably questioning my leadership ability, but it didn't bother me. I had never let anyone else's feelings about me affect who I was because that always gave your opponent the edge. The less a conflict involved me on a personal level, the better off I was. It gave the impression that I was a jerk, and maybe that was true. Then again, I didn't care; I just wanted to be myself.

As I stepped off of the elevator, I ran my hand through my hair. It would take Balamb Garden a while to reach its destination, and there wasn't much to do to pass the time. I decided to head to my room rather than locate Fujin and Raijin. I just wanted to be alone at that moment.

Strolling down the hall at a leisurely pace, I stared at the ground most of the way, paying no attention to the various people who walked by me. I fiddled with the key in my pocket as I approached my door. I pulled it out and unlocked the entrance. Pushing it open, I stepped in and then slammed it behind me. Suddenly tired, I dropped the key on the nightstand and then dropped onto my bed.

Glancing over at the opposite wall, my eyes came across my trusted gunblade, Hyperion. It had been longing for Squall's blood, and it appeared to be its due time. My rival would have to be conservative because he would be alone, while I could be aggressive because I would not be. The roles were reversed from our last confrontation, and that was why I knew what his strategy would have to be. Naturally, Squall would know what to expect from us as well.

I did wonder if his friends would actually support me and fight him considering their feelings. I always found that to be their weakness, and I was hoping it wouldn't present itself again. Squall and I would then resort to a one-on-one duel, and the results would be entirely unpredictable. We knew each other's style better than anyone else. 

For the first time in my life, I felt that I needed someone to depend on in a battle. It would be too difficult to win alone, and while I wouldn't admit it aloud, I had my doubts. The first mistake had the potential to be the last, and I didn't like those odds. 

I placed my hand on my forehead and sighed. These thoughts were too overwhelming for me.

_(If people knew the inner Seifer, would that change their feelings about me?)_ I thought, followed by a chuckle. _(I doubt it. They'll never know anyway.)_

I stared at the ceiling as the thoughts continued to flood my mind. As the Garden sailed smoothly yet speedily across the sea, I began to doze off. 

Once again, I had a strange dream. There was a brief flash of the blue streets of Esthar with the Ragnarok landing at the Airstation. A split second later, I saw Squall and Rinoa standing in a large room talking to the president of Esthar. Their lips moved, but there was no sound emanating from them. All of their faces were very solemn, and I didn't understand what was going on.

Then it was over and I woke up. I didn't know how long it had been since I had fallen asleep, but I wearily got out of bed and opened my window. The Garden had come to rest on the rocky coast of the Centra continent and the sun was beginning to set in the distance.

(Wow…I was asleep for a while.)

Then a realization came to me. "They're probably already searching for them!" I said aloud angrily.

I snatched Hyperion and rushed out of my room at full speed. People willingly hopped out of the way, and it was a good thing they did. I wasn't stopping for anybody. 

Charging through the front gate, I leapt off a short way and landed in a crouch on the ground. Without hesitation, I continued toward my old orphanage. My right hand still held my gunblade tightly, and I was ready to release my frustration upon anyone who tried to stand in my way.

Coming upon the stone house by the ocean, I slowed down to a stop momentarily. I hadn't been inside of it since I was a little child. Ultimecia had shown it to me from afar on Galbadia Garden to bring to mind all of my old memories of Matron and strengthen my allegiance. The orphanage had become so dilapidated, with so much of the foundation beginning to crumble. Shaking these thoughts from my mind, I hurried inside.

"Where's Squall?!" I yelled loudly.

The Chicken-Wuss was the only one in the room and he screamed in surprise. "Seifer, calm down, will ya?!"

"Where's Squall?!" I repeated unwaveringly, acting as if I was ready to go to war with him.

"He ain't here, so just chill out and put your gunblade away," Zell replied.

"Why did you come here without me?! What if he had been here?!" I asked in outrage.

"I dunno. They said they couldn't find you," he said.

"Did they even bother to check my room?" I inquired.

"Honestly, I didn't look for you 'cause I didn't care. The others did, and they told me you weren't anywhere to be found."

"Where are they?"

"They're lookin' all around the orphanage for clues of Squall's whereabouts," Zell informed.

"Find them, and tell them to come in here," I ordered.

"Why?" Zell asked, puzzled.

"Because I'm the leader and I said so. Do as I say, Chicken-Wuss."

Showing some restrain for once, he headed off to round them up. However, I heard him mumbling under his breath as he walked away. I wasn't surprised they had gone ahead without me. I had almost expected it. I was sure they wanted to keep my involvement and influence on this mission to a minimum. Eventually, the entire squad gathered in the room with me.

"What did you guys think you were doin'?" I asked in irritation.

"What do you mean?" Irvine asked.

"You know exactly what I mean, cowboy! You can't override my authority!"

"Oh, brother…" Selphie muttered in annoyance. "It's not like we needed you here anyway."

"What if Squall had been here?!" I shouted fiercely.

"Seifer, we can handle this without you," Quistis said firmly.

"I'm the leader here and you have to do what I say, whether you like it or not!" I said. 

"We don't have time for your ego!" she exclaimed. 

"Everybody knows that your leadership position is just a technicality," Irvine added.

"Ha, is that so?" I scoffed. "I wonder if Cid agrees with that."

"We can easily get you removed from this assignment, Seifer," Quistis threatened.

"I'll hunt down Squall, with or without you, assigned to do so or not."

"It doesn't really matter now. Squall isn't here. Now we just decide where to go from here," Selphie said, eager to change the subject.

"I'm totally clueless. We have no leads," Zell stated.

Then my mind drifted back to my dream earlier in the day. "Does Squall know the president of Esthar?" I inquired.

"Of course he does. Sir Laguna's his father," the little messenger replied.

That was a response I hadn't expected. After all, Squall had lived in the orphanage, but it did cause my dream to make more sense.

"Then we're going to Esthar," I decided.

"What?! You've gotta be kiddin'! There's no way Squall and Rinoa would go there!" Zell exclaimed in disbelief.

"It'd be like suicide!" Irvine said.

"You two are completely naïve. You don't understand how brilliant of a plan that would be. His father ain't gonna turn them on, and hiding under the shelter of the president, they'd be safe for days. They won't expect us to look for them there, so that gives us the advantage," I explained. "I say we're going to Esthar now!"

There was a brief silence, and I could tell that they were impressed and amazed with my reasoning, even if they didn't want to admit it.

"Well, it's a long shot, but we have no other leads. Besides, Laguna may be able to help us in some way," Quistis said.

We returned to the Garden and headed to the third floor bridge. "Set a course for Esthar," I demanded of the pilot.

"I can't fly it over Esthar's terrain, so you'll have to walk from Fisherman's Horizon," he informed me.

"We have to walk?!" I repeated angrily.

"There's no way around it. The continent's not suited for the Garden's flight capabilities," Irvine said.  
"How long will it take?" I asked.

"Close to a day, I guess."

"You can't be serious! We don't have that much time! We gotta get there before Squall gets away!" I said, my impatience getting the better of me.

"Get over it. I hate it, too, but there's no other choice," Zell said. Coming from one of the few people with less patience than me, I had to consent.

"I suppose we should contact Esthar and let them know we're coming," Quistis said.

"Don't do it," I commanded with authority.

"They'll find out we're coming sooner or later. Their technology is super-advanced. The second we enter, security will be all over us," Selphie stated.

"Then let them find out later. We can't give them a head start on us. We're gonna sneak into their borders."

"But there's no way…" Zell began.

"Shut your mouth, Chicken-Wuss!" I cut him off harshly. "I'm in charge, and we're doin' things my way! That's all there is to it. Let's get moving."

Now that was how I wanted to assert my authority.


	5. Thinking Ahead

Chapter 5- Thinking Ahead 

There was a heavy silence in the room until it was broken with the sound of Laguna's secretary calling over the intercom.

"President Loire?"

He strolled over to his desk and pushed a button on the speaker. "Yes?"

"Your board of advisors has been waiting for the business meeting for a while now," he informed.

Laguna slapped himself on the forehead. "Man! I forgot all about that!" he exclaimed. He pushed the button in again. "I'll be there in a minute. Tell them to hold on."

"Yes, sir!"

"Sorry about this, guys," he apologized sincerely. "I gotta go for a bit, but I'll be back soon, okay? Just hang tight in here and you'll be safe."

His hurried footsteps echoed in the quiet office and then he cracked open the door. He quickly slipped out and shut it again, followed by a clicking noise to indicate it had been locked.

It was silent for a long while after that. I stared up at the ceiling, and my eyes then slowly trailed to the floor. I could see my reflection in the nearly transparent glass floor. We were hiding from the enemy in their own home, while we were running from friends at our home. It was ironic, thinking of it that way.

We knew there was no way we could go back to Balamb Garden. Things could never be the same again, and I was aware of those risks when I decided to do it. We couldn't run from SeeD forever though. As long as they were under orders, they would pursue us all over the world, and I respected the fact that they were obeying their commands. I wondered if my comrades would be the ones looking for us, and I wondered if they would send Seifer after us. That seemed like the wisest idea since I knew he was one of the few people at Garden who would show me no mercy.

I almost regretted dragging Rinoa along without her consent, but would she have still come along if I had explained the circumstances to her first? I looked over at her, and the smile filled with gratitude told me the answer. Even so, I was still remorseful.

"…Rinoa, I'm sorry for dragging you into this with me," I apologized.

"Don't be. I might be dead now if I didn't have you, Squall. You did what you felt was right, and it's good to see you following your heart these days instead of always sticking to orders," she said.

_(I wouldn't have if it weren't for you. If it had been someone else, I'm not so sure I wouldn't have complied.)_ I thought.

"I just wish…you know…We'd be able to see everyone else again. We can never go back, can we?"

Rinoa knew what the answer was; there was no need to ask. I remained silent, figuring there was no need to answer either.

"I suppose every risk involves sacrifices, and the bigger the risk, the bigger the sacrifices," she continued. "There's no easy solution either…Why do things have to be so hard?"

I was honestly asking myself the same question, but nothing made sense. People still didn't feel safe with a sorceress around, and the events of the past year only heightened their fears. I certainly understood, but the world had a stereotypical image of a sorceress as the evil destroyer of mankind. They failed to realize that there have been many good sorceresses, but the only looked at what Rinoa was, not who she was.

She had become the world's enemy, and as her knight, I vowed to protect her at any cost. If that was what it came down to—fighting SeeD and my friends—so be it. Unlike the headmaster, I would choose my love over my job. I didn't hold that against him, and it was a different situation. After all, we fought her, too. At that time, Edea was a threat to the world's security, while Rinoa wasn't now. I wondered if there could be a preferable, and at the same time realistic, solution as we had managed to attain with Matron.

"Do you think we'll have to fight Quistis and the others?" Rinoa inquired, echoing my own thoughts.

"…Maybe. It's a definite possibility," I answered, trying to remain calm in order to comfort her.

"There's no way to avoid it, I guess," she said.

She wasn't the same naïve girl that I met in Timber so long ago. She had learned much about the ways of the world in a short amount of a time. She seemed to mature by leaps and bounds since the beginning and she hadn't slowed down since. She never ceased to amaze me.

"I…I don't even want to think about fighting them, but I will. I don't care what happens to me, but I want to protect you, Squall," she said. "You're more important to me than anyone else."

I wanted to tell her that I felt the same way, but the words weren't coming. Instead, I took her hand in mine, comfortingly I hoped. Rinoa smiled brightly, her brown eyes sparkling amazingly. Being with her alone at that moment assured me that she was someone worth defending, and that I was doing the right thing. She briefly let go of my hand and slipped off my black glove.

"Just wanted a more personal touch," she explained, interlocking our fingers once more.

I took my glove into my free hand and inserted it into the pocket of my jacket. Her soft touch on my bare skin was relaxing, but not nearly enough to take my mind off of the current predicament. I assumed that, within the next day, we would be leaving Esthar and heading somewhere else. I wondered where Laguna could possibly send us so that no one could find us. There weren't many unknown locations, and I doubted anywhere would truly by safe from Garden's reach if there were.

Then I wondered what we would have to do with the Ragnarok. If it stayed with us, it would make our hideaway less conspicuous, considering how much it stood out. If it stayed in Esthar, SeeD would know that we had been here and Laguna was not a good liar. They would read him easily and it would only be a matter of time before he slipped up. He was a good man, but never known for his smooth talking. I figured he would be back shortly and we would be able to discuss our plans in detail.

I gazed out of the window located in the back of his office. Esthar's enormous buildings consisted of most of the view, but I could still see the cloudless blue sky. The sun was hidden behind the congested area of structures, but its rays still bounced off of their windows, creating bright gleams. I guessed that it was late afternoon, and it wouldn't be long before the sun began to set.

"What's on your mind, Squall?" Rinoa asked.

"…Nothing," I lied, partially due to instinct, as it was my typical response when anyone asked me a question of that nature, and she knew it.

"You've gotta start letting me know what you're thinking. You're tense now, and I feel that. I can't help you if I don't know what's bothering you."

"I know," I said. I wasn't sure if I was ready to entirely express my deepest feelings and concerns with someone else though.

"So…talk to me," she requested in a gentle manner, not at all demanding. "I know there's something burdening you, so it'd be best for you to just let it out."

I was hesitant at first, but then I realized I had nothing to lose. Rinoa wasn't going to laugh at me or think I was stupid. She'd take me seriously since she was probably thinking about the same things.

"…Right now, I'm thinking about where we go from here. It seems like our options are limited, and there's truly nowhere we can go and hide from everyone. It seems that fighting is inevitable, but I won't disappoint you, Rinoa. I'll guard you with my life, but the last thing I want is to battle our friends. It's a no-win situation, and I hate it."

She smiled at me, although I could tell that she had to force it somewhat. "I understand completely, but you know the best thing to do?"

"What's that?" I inquired curiously.

"Stop thinking about it," Rinoa replied.

In the heat of battle, pushing everything out of my mind was simple because it was necessary, but otherwise it was a foreign concept to me. "But it's hard to do…"

"Because you think too much as it is. Sometimes you gotta let it all go, or it'll get ya down, you know," she said.

It made some sense to me. "…Maybe."

"Definitely."

I wished it was that easy, but telling me to stop thinking was tantamount to asking Zell to stop eating hot dogs. It just wasn't going to happen, no matter how hard I tried.

"I guess it's a lot to ask of you now since, you know, I can't stop thinking about it either. A lot's happened, and the day's not even over yet," she stated thoughtfully.

Gazing out of the window once more, I saw the sky begin to fill with the vivid array of pinks, oranges, and yellows that normally accompany a sunset. Rinoa apparently followed my eyes outside.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" she commented.

"I guess…" I replied, not sure of what to say.

She giggled, a wonderful sound to hear during a tense situation. "Still not a romantic, huh? You've still gotta work on voicing you thoughts more frequently," she said.

I was reminded of carrying her comatose body across the Horizon Bridge and then taking a break while watching the sunset. That was truly the first time I had unabashedly vocalized my concerns and worried to someone else openly, even though Rinoa was not consciously aware of it. It was easier then, because it was almost like talking to myself in hopes that she would hear me and wake up.

"Maybe I'll learn some day," I said.

"I hope so. I wanna know what goes through your head at all times," she said smiling, completely genuine.

I heard a loud click—the sound of the door unlocking—and then it opened. Laguna quickly slid inside and shut the door behind him. I let go of Rinoa's hand for the moment and slipped my glove back on inside my pocket.

"Sorry that took so long. These guys just talk, talk, talk, and never seem to stop," he said with a warm smile, but an irritated voice.

"Was there any mention of us?" Rinoa inquired curiously.

"Not really. They asked if I knew why the Ragnarok was here, and I told them that only Squall had been here. I told them you would be leaving in the morning, and we moved on," he explained.

"Speaking of which, where are we headed next?" I asked.

"I wanted to ponder all of my options before it came to this, but it seems like the only choice. There's a remote island south of here, just off the coast. I go there a lot to get away from the politics of Esthar since it's such a secluded place. You won't find it on any map in the world it's so tiny. I was reluctant to send you guys there because if someone spots you, there's no escape. After all, it is an island, but it's close enough that I should be able to detect any danger. It's way to small to land the Ragnarok on it, so we'll leave it here and have Kiros and Ward take you by boat…"

"We can't do that," I interrupted.

"…Why not?" Laguna asked, puzzled.

"Once SeeD arrives and they see it, they'll know we've been here," I answered.

"So what do we do?" he asked.

"We've got to hide it somewhere," I said. "There are some deep forests on this continent, right?"

"Yeah, but on the other side," he responded.

"Near the coast?"

"Yeah."

"So could Kiros and Ward meet us there?"

"Sure, but how would they know where to find you?" Laguna queried.

"Can't you track us?" I asked.

"Not very easily, unless there's a tracking device installed," he replied.

"Yeah, but Garden could easily find us then…Bring me a map," I requested.

"I can access one at my desk," Laguna informed.

We walked over to it and he pushed a small button underneath. Suddenly, a projected image of the world appeared on top, acting as a screen.

_(I always see something I never expect.)_ I mused.

"The Ragnarok has a map, so I assume the boats do as well," I said.

"Right," he confirmed.

I pointed to a strip of coastal shoreline on the northwestern tip of the continent.

"Have Kiros and Ward meet us there," I said firmly.

"Got it!"

Even though I generally disliked being in a leadership role, I found I could do it well. Rinoa smiled at me proudly.

"Well, you guys should get some rest. Tomorrow appears to be a busy day as well. It's not comfy in here, but I can provide some blankets and pillows," Laguna said.

"Thank you," she said gratefully.

We slept on the floor, separate from each other, and attempted to get some sleep. We were startled in the middle of the night when the president barged into the room with a sense of urgency. 

"Squall! Rinoa! Unexpected turn of events! We have to go now! SeeDs are in Esthar's borders!"


	6. The Oath

Chapter 6- The Oath 

Balamb Garden sped through the ocean waters toward the location where I had imposed my own exile nearly a year earlier after the war. There had to be an easier and faster route to Esthar than a long walk from Fisherman's Horizon. The others had gone off on their own elsewhere in the office while I stood still, attempting fervently to find another solution. I had barely noticed they had left, being so deep in thought. 

After realizing their absence, I smirked. _(So this is what it feels like to be Squall, huh? Thinking so hard you're not aware of anything else.)_

I heard the sound of the wooden double doors behind me open and I turned around to see Fujin and Raijin approaching. 

"Yo, Seifer! Where we goin' now?" my bronze-skinned comrade asked curiously.

"FH," I simply replied.

"What for?"

"ESTHAR," my other loyal follower answered, and I nodded in confirmation.

"It'd be easier just to go straight there, ya know," Raijin stated.

"We can't. They say it's not safe to fly over there or something," I informed.

"Can't ya just get off at the end of the bridge instead of walkin' from the middle?" he questioned.

I was surprised that he, of all people, had come up with the idea first. That Garden pilot would probably give me some lame excuse again, I figured, but it was worth a try.

"Wait here, guys." I stepped onto the lift and rode it up to the top. "Drop us off at the end of the bridge," I demanded, rather than requesting.

"No way. I can't do that. It's too dangerous," he protested.

"What's the difference between there and FH?" I asked.

"There's actually a place to land at Fisherman's Horizon. It'd be too difficult to try to hold still in the ocean current while you guys are jumping off," he answered.

"We'll see about that. Just do as I say," I said impatiently.

"Okay…But you're only wasting your time."

I didn't like having my orders questioned, but I knew in order to maintain my position as squad leader, I would have to be somewhat civil. I rode the lift down without another word, but that was hardly the end of it.

"Put that Garden pilot on the list, whatever his name is," I said, irritated, while Fujin simply nodded her comprehension silently. "I told him my idea, so we're gonna hop off at the end of the bridge."

"I thought that was my idea, ya…" Raijin started, but never finished.

My silver-haired partner kicked him in the shin fiercely and he dropped to one knee, clutching the sore spot. "SILENCE!"

She was certainly intolerant of anyone correcting or criticizing me, even if they were right. She could be scary at times when she became furious. Raijin rose to his feet tenderly, softly groaning in pain. It would probably leave a big bruise, I thought. It almost always did.

"Walk it off," I said callously.

He limped around for a few moments, moaning with each step. Then he stumbled over to the wall and leaned on it for support. He grimaced as he slowly slumped back onto the floor, still unable to completely stand. 

It was quiet for a long while after that, and I drifted into deep thought once again. I wasn't entirely sure if we would find Squall and Rinoa in Esthar. After all, I was following some dream I had, so it was a big risk. Obviously, we would end up wasting a lengthy amount of time and losing a considerable bit of ground to our prey if this was unsuccessful. As a result, I would lose the confidence of my so-called teammates, and they didn't have much in me to begin with, if any at all.

As much as I despised it, I couldn't go far without their help and support. Despite the fact that I am officially the squad leader, Cid would be much more inclined to listen to Garden's heroes rather than its most infamous outcast and one-time traitor. I knew they didn't trust me anyway, but they expected me to get the job done when it came to Squall. Hunting the sorceress and her knight wasn't much different than Ultimecia's plan of me being her bloodhound and chasing down SeeDs. Maybe that was one of the reasons I was assigned to the mission.

It was a long time later, though I'm not exactly sure how much time had elapsed, when the Garden pilot shouted down that we had arrived. As I headed toward the elevator, the others gradually flocked over there as well. They were chatting amongst themselves amicably, but I didn't pay any attention to what they were saying. I hit the button for the second floor and we were there quickly. The group was puzzled when they realized that we hadn't gone to the first floor.

"What's goin' on, Seifer?" Zell asked.

"You'll see," I said ambiguously.

"Tell us now!" he demanded.

"Shut your mouth, Chicken-Wuss. You'll find out soon enough," I said, annoyed.

I continued to walk on without looking back at them. As we turned the corner down the classroom hallway, the martial artist grabbed me by the shoulder and spun me around to face him. Zell stared at me angrily, breathing heavily through his mouth as I glared down at him calmly in sharp contrast to his demeanor.

"Stop it, Zell!" Quistis intervened with her strict tone of voice.

She didn't do it for my sake, but rather for the Chicken-Wuss, as he could be disciplined for irrational behavior and causing dissention among teammates. I knew from personal experience. 

Without a word, I continued toward the deck. We stepped outside, and night had fallen with the moon nowhere in sight, covered by the clouds. There was a fierce wind blowing, which immediately causing me to turn my head away. Balamb Garden bobbed up and down in the ocean waters as high waves crashed into the side.

"Whoa!" Selphie exclaimed. "Now might be a good time to tell us what you're doing!"

"We're jumping off," I said plainly.  
"What?!" they all shouted, almost in perfect synchronization.

"You heard me."

"Are you insane?! This is suicide! Especially with the wind and the waves, and we can barely see the bridge to land on it," Irvine warned.

"It's faster. We don't have any time to waste. We've got a job to do," I said.

I heard Quistis sigh loudly with irritation. "Typical Seifer. You've just wasted even more time because now we have to go all the way back to Fisherman's Horizon!"

I took a step forward to the edge of the deck. I stood there for a few moments, trying to determine any sort of pattern with Balamb Garden's bobs and the waves crashing into it. I needed to leap off at the highest point.

"You can go back if you want, but I'm jumping, with or without you," I said firmly.

My former instructor grabbed my arm and I turned my head to look at her. "You can't do this," she said through clenched teeth with her iron resolve, blonde hair being pushed into her face.

Of course, I wasn't going to be swayed. I had already made up my mind. As she held on tightly, I continued to develop a pattern from the wave's motions. After a few moments, I broke free of her grip, dashed to the end of the deck, and catapulted myself over it. I managed to leap far enough and landed in a crouch on the bridge. My coattails fluttered wildly as I stood up straight, and I turned around to see them look over the edge and spot me.

"You stupid idiot! You could've gotten yourself killed!" Zell shouted.

"Just shut up for a second, Chicken-Wuss! You comin' or not?"

He slammed his hands down fiercely on the deck's railing, but didn't say a word.

"Seifer Almasy!" Quistis called out. "Get back here immediately!"

"Kinda hard to do that now," I said casually. "Like I said before, I'm going whether you're with me or not. It's your call."

"Looks like we have no choice," Irvine said. "So like…Uh, who wants to go first?"

My former instructor rolled her eyes, already frustrated by my disobedience. "I will."

The others stepped aside as she moved backwards. Moments later, I saw her launch over and land in a crouch next to me. She swiped the hair back that was being rushed into her face constantly by the strong gusts of wind as she rose to her feet.

"You can be sure the headmaster will hear about this," she said sternly.

"Yeah, yeah. I know," I waved off.

"I can't believe I'm gonna do this," I read on Irvine's lips as he clutched his cowboy hat tightly and backed out of my sight. Then he pushed himself over the deck with one arm, the other holding onto his ridiculous hat. He landed on the bridge roughly, nearly slipping and falling onto his back.

"If you hadn't been so worried about your stupid hat, you could've kept your balance," I commented.

The sharpshooter chose to ignore me, and all of his effort was nearly in vain as he let go, the wind swooping it off of his head. He was barely able to save it before it became a part of the ocean floor.

Next, I watched as Selphie jumped and perched on the ledge with amazing balance. I was surprised to see an excited grin on her face as she leaped off and landed on the bridge. Apparently, she was a risk taker by nature and wasn't bothered by danger.

Finally, it was Zell's turn. As he charged toward the ledge, he placed both of his hands on it, and then proceeded to flip over it. Impressive as the takeoff was, the landing was less than exceptional and none too graceful. His foot tripped over a railroad plank, and barely putting his arms out in time to catch himself, the Chicken-Wuss managed to avoid face planting. I chuckled in amusement as he picked himself up, his face red with embarrassment.

"Let's get going," Quistis said, hoping to prevent a confrontation between Zell and me. "We'll have to cross the Great Salt Lake before we can get to Esthar," she continued, only to inform me of our route.

As we began to walk, it started to drizzle lightly. From the end of the Horizon Bridge, it was a short trip to the ancient lake. There had never been in water in this arid valley. Any sort of precipitation simply couldn't completely penetrate the atmosphere. It was a strange phenomenon on nature.

We entered the enormous salt deposit as the rainfall picked up. However, as I stared up at the night sky, I watched the large drops evaporate in midair. I had learned about this in my classes in Balamb Garden, but to actually witness it first-hand was incredible. Yeah, certain things like this actually did fascinate me, and I did retain some knowledge from my classes. I wasn't completely dense concerning these kinda things.

As we walked, our feet crunched stepping on the salt. There were many prehistoric skeletons scattered around the area. There were no threats from any monsters in sight, making the journey rather dull. The others conversed amongst themselves as we sauntered through the valley.

"I'm still finding it hard to believe that we're hunting down Squall and Rinoa," Irvine commented.

"Seriously. It sooo doesn't feel right!" Selphie added.

"I can't help feeling like we're the bad guys here," Zell stated, sighing as his shoulders dropped in depression.

"Don't say that. I'm sure they don't feel that way," the cowboy said in an attempt to comfort him.

"Does that make it right? Does it, huh?!" he shouted, his voice faltering.

"…I didn't say that. It's just…" he hesitated, unsure of how to finish.

"Just what?! How can we justify chasing after Rinoa, our friend, so she can be led off like a lamb to the slaughter?! How can we shove Squall aside while he's trying to protect his true love?! How can we be so heartless to take her away from him?!" 

Then Zell collapsed, emotionally drained. He managed to hold himself up on his hands and knees, but he was shaking uncontrollably. All of the others dropped to one knee by his side. I decided to be straightforward and honest with him.

"Listen, as cold as it sounds, this is our job here. This has to be done, and I'm sure Squall and Rinoa don't blame us for this. Matter of fact, I know they don't. They respect that we're doing what we have to do, and not let our emotions interfere with our duty. Squall turned his back on Garden and you because he couldn't let her go, and I understand why. He couldn't abandon Rinoa because his obligations as a knight always come first, and I know from experience. It wasn't a decision based on emotion for him, but because it's his responsibility to defend her at all costs.

"However, we can't let them go because they're your friends, and they wouldn't expect you to. They've made their choice, and now you've got your own to make. As a SeeD, your emotions and feelings take a backseat to your task at hand because you vowed your loyalty to Garden. I'm sure they're prepared to have to fight us as well, and they're willing to do that. Squall and Rinoa have their priorities, and we need to have ours. You understand what I'm saying?"

The four of them stared back at me in genuine surprise because I had been totally sincere for a change. I could also tell they knew the message that I was trying to convey, and they agreed.

"…Seifer's right. Squall made a promise to Rinoa, and he's going to keep it. We gave an oath of loyalty to Balamb Garden, and they wouldn't expect us to break it. As much as I know we all hate this, we must do it," Quistis said.

Nodding slowly, Zell then proceeded to rise back onto his feet. "It's still not gonna make me feel any better about what we're doing here," he said, strangely quiet.

"We know, Zell. We feel the same way," Selphie said.

We continued our otherwise uneventful trip through the Great Salt Lake until we came to a cliff with another monstrous skeleton on the edge.

"What now?" I asked. "This is a dead end."

"The pathway's right here, but…" Irvine hesitated. "Is it just me, or does anyone remember this pile of bones being here before?"

As soon as he had finished, the skeleton sprung to life and slowly rose up off of the ground. It stood on all four of its massive legs with an extremely large body with a straight spine and very wide ribs. The huge skull had wide, empty eye sockets and sharp teeth that were as long as my arm. Long tusks extended from the corners of its mouth.

Then it charged towards us, each step shaking the ground and kicking salt into the air. We dispersed to avoid the beast's rush and I covered my eyes to prevent the salt from getting into them. It dashed harmlessly past us, and then slowly turned around toward us again.

"It's an undead monster! Use Cure spells!" Quistis shouted.

Immediately, Selphie cast Curaga, but it didn't seem to damage or even faze the prehistoric monster. "No way!" she exclaimed in shock.

As I grabbed Hyperion, the others drew their weapons as well and we prepared for a tough battle. It opened its mouth and streams of flames were emitted in all directions. I dove desperately aside and then rolled safely out of harm's way. Irvine attempted to fire a few shots at it, but the bullets bounced off harmlessly with an odd-sounding clang. It tried to impale him with the tusks, but he managed to get out of the way in time.

Then the beast lunged forward at me. I hopped to the side and then brought down my gunblade onto its tusk. It did no damage, as my weapon vibrated throughout with a sound as if it had made contact with another weapon. It shouldn't have done that, I thought. It didn't seem to be made of bone at all. The monster swung to the side at me again, barely avoiding ripping open my coat.

As it prepared to rush at me, I heard a whip crack, and I saw her weapon wrap around one of its hind legs. Selphie tangled up the other with her nunchaku. They tried to pull him backwards or trip it up, but the monstrosity was only aggravated with the attempt. It struggled to break free of the weapons, and then Zell dashed forward and, launching off of my former instructor's shoulders, managed to land on its back.

It was furious now, leaping off the ground with its two front legs trying to buck the Chicken-Wuss off. "Let's ride it, cowboy! Man, I bet you're all green with envy now, Irvine!" he commented as he held on tightly to its bones.

"I was never meant for the rodeo, partner," he shot back in a stereotypical cowboy drawl. "I prefer the duelin' and shootin' myself."

Then he reloaded his rifle and fired off a few more rounds. None of them were any more effective than the ones before, bouncing off with the same weird noise. "What the heck is up with this thing? We can't hurt it!"

Zell slowly climbed his way forward to the beast's neck as Quistis and Selphie's weapons held firm. He punched it at the base of the neck, and then he grimaced and shook his fist in pain. "This ain't made of bone, guys! We're not dealing with your average undead monster," he said. "Distract it. I've got an idea."

He jumped off and then moved far away from the action. He began concentrating on summoning a Guardian Force. I wondered what was going through his mind at the time. The monster breathed fire once more, and I hurried out of harm's way. I slashed my gunblade across its ribs, but it was to no avail once more. 

"Get out of the way!" Zell yelled.

Quistis and Selphie retracted their weapons and we all ran to get away from the monster. As lightning filled the sky, the faceless GF of thunder, Quezacotl, descended from the black clouds. Hovering slightly off of the ground, it gathered its electrical energy together. It unleashed its storm upon the unaware skeleton. The bolts traveled quickly through the body and at its conclusion, the summoned helper vanished. The prehistoric predator's bones were sizzling. The white substance ripped open, revealing circuits and wires crackling with power. Then the mere mechanical monstrosity collapsed and fell apart.

"Well, what do ya know? It's artificial," Irvine said.

"Probably Esthar's doing, to keep anyone else from coming this way," Quistis mused. "They love their privacy, but I wonder if Laguna knew anything about this."

"No use thinking about it. Let's go," I hurried.

I watched in amazement as they climbed an invisible ladder and then a door opened in midair.

_(What's going on here?)_ I wondered, but then followed after them.

We ran through to a lift that carried us to the familiar technological wonder of the world, Esthar, as the sun began to rise.

"Let's head for the Airstation to see if the Ragnarok's here," Zell proposed.

"Yeah, let's hurry before the big, bad guards arrive!" Selphie added.

We dashed through the blue streets, navigated our way through the humongous city. As we closed in on our destination, the huge red airship came into my sight. Then we all stopped in our tracks as we watched the dragon-shaped vehicle lift off from the landing pad and then speed out of our view and into the distance.


	7. Movin'

Chapter 7- Movin' 

How had SeeD managed to find us so quickly? It didn't make any sense to me. As far as I knew, we left no signs nor dropped any clues to indicate that Esthar had been our destination. I had taken all of the necessary steps to prevent them from tracking us. Had I made one mistake, or had I forgotten one detail, no matter how minute? I couldn't figure it out, but I didn't have the time to think about it.

We hurried through the city toward the Airstation in the Esthar dawn. The sun was just beginning to rise, and many of the stars were still visible through the myriad of bright colors. As we dashed along the streets, Laguna explained our adjusted plan.

"As soon as you get outta here, I'm gonna send Kiros and Ward to the rendezvous point. Just make sure you get there safely and undetected. It'll be a while before they arrive, so hang tight."

It had happened so quickly that I had hardly considered Seifer and the others could be right behind us. I had no idea where they were or how close they were. Taking a brief glance behind me, I saw no one. 

We approached the Ragnarok and slowed our pace down to a walk. We were all breathing heavily, and I was surprised Laguna had stayed with us the entire way, considering his age and likely lack of inactivity during his years of presidency. Perhaps I didn't give him as much credit as he deserved.

"Sorry about all this, guys," he apologized sullenly. "As soon as we figure something out, we'll be back to pick you up. Good luck."

"Thanks…Laguna," I said appreciatively, yet still reluctant to address him as my father in any way.

Rinoa and I rushed aboard without another word and I headed for the cockpit. Starting the ship, it began to hover off of the landing pad as I buckled my seatbelt. Turning it in the proper direction, I then hit the boosters and we sped off. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, but I knew plenty was left to be done before we were in the clear.

For the first time that morning, I looked over at Rinoa, meeting her gaze. She smiled slightly, but then the gloom and anxiety prevailed on her face. I wished I could have said something to cheer her up, but there were no words, as usual.

"Crazy, isn't it?" she remarked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah…" I concurred, but had nothing else to contribute.

"Just when we thought we could relax for a little bit, we're off and running again."

"I'm sorry," I apologized, but I was unsure of why I did so.

"No, don't. This isn't your fault, Squall. If anything, I should be thanking you. This would all be a disaster if you weren't here with me. I know I wouldn't be able to handle this by myself," Rinoa said in sincerity.

I remained silent, still with nothing to say. I checked the map as we continued to fly toward our destination. In the Ragnarok, it wouldn't take that long to get there, but I wondered how long it would be before Kiros and Ward met us, considering they had to navigate almost entirely around the continent to reach us. The arid desert became monotonous quickly as we saw nothing for miles except for great plains of sand. The trip was quite boring, as far as the scenery was concerned.

"Why don't you get some rest?" I suggested. "It's going to be a while before we leave the Ragnarok again."

Rinoa shook her head negatively. "No, I'm fine. I'm not that tired."

"You sure?"

"Maybe later, but I'm okay right now," she replied.

Shortly afterwards, the lush forests on the northwestern part of the Esthar continent came into view. I located our meeting point and steered the airship in the right direction. There was a gap of wide-open space nestled inside the forest that was conveniently large enough for us to land near the coast. Hopefully, the trees would be able to conceal it so it would not stand out. I eased the crimson, dragon-shaped ship down carefully and precariously, still not entirely confident in my limited ability as a pilot. I managed to bring it down to the ground without any difficulty.

"I think I will take a nap, after all," Rinoa said while stretching out her comely figure. "I'm really tired all of a sudden."

She closed her eyes and shifted in her seat, attempting to get comfortable.

"I'm gonna take a look around. I'll be back soon," I informed her as I unbuckled my seatbelt.

She nodded slowly to confirm that she had heard and I rose out of my seat. I wanted to get some rest myself, but I figured I needed to scout the area first to make sure there was no immediate danger present. I left the cockpit and sauntered my way out of the vessel, with my mind heavily burdened with various thoughts. I stepped outside cautiously and meticulously examined my surroundings.

The area seemed to be uninhabited, although there was a large hole in the ground not far from my present location filled with dead brown leaves, and a few other objects I couldn't see clearly. I moved forward to inspect the items, my eyes warily scanning the area as I walked. I stopped in my tracks suddenly when I realized what they were. There were two eggs speckled with green, and they were large.

Then the ground beneath me began to rumble, becoming more violent by the moment. I hurried back into the Ragnarok, as they were arriving on the scene. I was hidden out of sight and remained still as I watched to see what these monsters looked like. The two reptilian-like beasts stopped at their nest and searched frantically around for predators. Their head swerved left to right on a pivot, but never shifted up or down.

I recognized them from pictures in textbooks at Balamb Garden. They were an endangered species, closely related to the T-Rexaur. Although they were much shorter—only about a foot or so taller than me—they were every bit as bulky. They didn't have tails, but their arms were unusually long and muscular, barely hanging off of the ground. They had dark blue skin with thick, noticeable scales. They didn't hunch over, but their bodies leaned toward the earth and that seemed to be as far as they could rise up.

I noticed that the skull and neck were perfectly aligned with its straight spine, and that seemed to explain why their heads were only capable of moving from side to side. I was certain that, using their strong legs and arms to propel itself forward with amazing speed, these monsters were extremely powerful battering rams.

I began to sneak slowly backwards, hoping to close off the Ragnarok before they came aboard. However, my boots tapping against the metal floor was enough for their sensitive ears to pick up, and they turned swiftly in my direction. I dove through the door leading toward the cockpit in desperation as they ran aboard, and I hurried to lock it. I did so, but moments later a perceptible dent was created as they began relentlessly ramming into it.

It was only a matter of time before they managed to break through, and I couldn't run away because they would wreak havoc on the airship. Drawing my gunblade, I took a few steps back and to the side to avoid being directly in their path.

_(I hope I can dispose of them before they can cause any severe damage.)_ I thought.

I was vacillating between calling on Rinoa to assist me or to let her be to keep her out of danger. In the end, I didn't have time to choose, as they ripped open the metal door and rushed at me. Their movement was very haphazard and erratic, as they kept their head lowered as they attempted to hit me. That made it much more difficult to dodge them because there was no discernable pattern to follow. I kept my feet in constant motion, waiting for an opportune time to attack. As one of them charged by, I slashed it down the side, but the hard scales were too tough to penetrate deep into, even for a sharp blade.

Eventually, I found myself backed against the wall. They came at me full speed, and I jumped as high as I could straight into the air. I barely had enough vertical leap to avoid them as they crashed headfirst into the steel. I slid down the back of one of the reptiles, and as soon as I landed, I aggressively swiped at its arm. My gunblade separated it from the body, and it dropped to the floor in a puddle of dark green blood.

It continued to pour profusely from the open wound as the creature let out a deafening shriek of pain. I couldn't concentrate on anything but the hideous sound until it ceased. Once I regained focus, I noticed the other beast charging my way and closing in too quickly for me to evade. I was able to place the flat side of my weapon in front of me in an attempt to lessen the blow. Even so, the broad side of my gunblade was forced into my chest, and I was lifted forcefully off of my feet.

The pain was excruciating and I couldn't breathe momentarily. I wondered how painful it would have been if I hadn't deflected it somewhat and it had nailed me unabated. I glanced at my blade to find that it had been slightly bent due to the contact.

The two reptiles stared at me carnivorously and were closing in for the kill as I tried to muster enough strength to stand up. They exposed their sharp teeth, and it appeared that they intended for me to be their next meal. However, they were suddenly bombarded from behind with a vicious flurry of consecutive Flare spells.  They dropped to the floor of the Ragnarok, writhing in pain with scorched skin. 

Then my eyes saw the source of their agony. Rinoa had rescued me with her powerful spells, magnified tremendously due to the fact that she was a sorceress. I rose to my feet and thrust my bent gunblade into the chest of one monster, and then it was permanently silenced. I withdrew my weapon and repeated the process with the other, silencing it. I glanced up at the ceiling and exhaled a long breath of relief.

"Thank you," I said gratefully, "for saving me."

Rinoa smiled at me. " 'No big deal. Just did what I wanted to do,'" she said, mimicking what I had told her on the Ragnarok a year ago after rescuing her from space. 

I smiled as well, fond memories of that moment entering my mind. I wondered why she had decided to say that.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to mock you. I just always liked it when you said that," she explained. "Trying to act like you hadn't done anything special only because you wanted to do it, even if it was something important."

"I still remember when I told you that here a year ago," I commented.

Rinoa smiled brightly once again. "I was hoping you hadn't forgotten," she said, and I was glad that it was still committed to my memory as well. "So how long was I asleep?"

"Not long," I answered. 

"What happened anyway?"

I informed her of the situation, and assuaged any worries that she had about the possibility of others in the area. It didn't seem likely that more of their kind was around. From what I had learned, only the mates traveled together and were nomadic by nature. They would only settle down briefly when the mother laid eggs. Even then, they would only occasionally check on their nest, and we had happened to arrive when they did.

I examined my gunblade and the damage done to it. It wasn't severe enough for me to need to replace it, but it could affect my aim, if only slightly. After all, the blade was barely bent out of shape, but even the smallest difference could change a lot. I figured I would try to mend it myself later.

"Can you fix it?" Rinoa inquired, noticing the damage as well.

"I'm not sure…I'll try though," I replied.

It would still be a while before Kiros and Ward picked us up, so I had plenty of time.

"We should clean up this mess before our guests come," she said, referring to the corpses of the lizards.

"How do you suggest we do that?" I asked.

"Simple," she replied casually, lifting a hand. 

She used a few Tornado spells to raise and sweep them off of the Ragnarok without a problem.

"Impressive," I quipped. "You'd make a good housekeeper."

"A rare joke from you," Rinoa said with a laugh. "I hate cleaning though. I couldn't do it full-time."

I walked over and checked out the door that had been forced open. It hadn't been torn off of the hinges, but the metal had been ripped apart, creating an enormous hole. We could easily fit through it, but we would be unable to do anything to repair it by ourselves. I stepped through and stared briefly outside while my girlfriend followed me.

"I'm gonna get some fresh air," she told me.

"Be careful," I warned.

"I will," she assured with a wink and a kiss on the lips before heading outside.

As she walked off, I placed my gunblade on the floor, getting down on bended knee to look it over. I sighed, having no idea what I could do to straighten my trusty weapon out. I knew I couldn't just do that with my hands alone. If I couldn't adjust it somehow, I'd be stuck with it. After all, we wouldn't be able to go into a junk shop somewhere and get a replacement.

It'd be difficult to fight expert SeeDs with a faulty gunblade, no matter how insignificant it seemed. Contact with the exact point of greatest weakness in the metal could damage it beyond repair and leave me defenseless with a useless piece of scrap. It was not a situation I wanted to be placed into, however unlikely the scenario was.

My mind drifted back to the possibility of fighting my friends. One thing that I was always was aware of was that, as a SeeD, you couldn't choose your enemies. We were expected to cast all emotion aside and perform any task given to us. However, I had noticed that knighthood had the ability to make a person to do things they normally wouldn't, and there was no possible way that I could comprehend it. I was beginning to understand some of the things that Seifer went through as Ultimecia's knight, and I thought that maybe he didn't do all of those terrible things of his own will.

I gazed over at Rinoa standing outside. She seemed to just be staring up at the trees with a content look on her face, as if she was simply enjoying nature. Leaving my gunblade on the floor, I decided to join her in hopes of clearing my stressful mind.

"I love the smell of the forest," she stated with her back to me as she heard me approaching.

"Reminds you of Timber?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah, and all my friends there. I've always hated the smell of big cities—smog, cars, brick, concrete, things like that—because it reminds me of Deling City and what it stands for, but…The scent of pure, unadulterated nature reminds me of all of the good things in life. Zone and Watts always used to tell me that it was surrounded by lush vegetation and huge trees before Galbadian occupation, and it made me hate Deling all the more…Even after all the effort I've put into it, I guess I won't get to be there when Timber finally declares independence, huh?"

She paused, lowering her eyes toward the ground sadly. I lifted up her chin with my hand, and I saw traces of tears welling up in her eyes. I placed my arm around Rinoa, and she hugged me tightly.

"I wish I could get rid of these sorceress powers without…dying, you know," she continued with a sniffle, her voice slightly faltering.

Once more, I wanted to comfort her, but I couldn't manage to find the words I wanted to say. I kissed her softly on the forehead and remained silent.

"I'm sorry, Squall. Let's head back inside," she said. "Thanks for listening to me ramble on about this."

"It's no problem," I said. "…Sorry I can't help you feel better."

"You don't always have to say something for me to know how you feel. Sometimes your actions speak louder than words, but don't use that as an excuse not to talk to me!" Rinoa said with a smile.

Grabbing my gunblade along the way, we went back to the cockpit and sat down in our seats. I watched her as she dozed off into a peaceful slumber, and then I elected to get some sleep as well. The sound of her slow, soft breathing soothed me as I fell asleep. I didn't know how much time had gone by, but eventually I was awakened by Kiros and Ward.

"Glad to see you guys were able to get some sleep," the former Galbadian soldier remarked.

I wearily rose out of my seat and we made out way toward the boat on the coast.

"Must've been boring having to wait all this time," he commented, attempting to converse.  
"Yeah, but it wasn't so bad," I replied.

Ward stopped and tapped his partner on the shoulder. Kiros glanced up at the huge man and interpreted his meaningful look.

"Right! Before I forget…Here," he said, handing us a pair of communicators, which we strapped around our wrists like a watch. "If you need us, just call us with those."

"Thank you," I said appreciatively. "By the way, could you guys buy me a new gunblade? I'll give you the money and items to forge it."

"Sure thing. We'll bring it by whenever we come back."

We reached the beach and found the vessel. It looked very similar to the boat I had ridden upon during the SeeD Field Exam going to Dollet.

"Let's get going, guys," Kiros said.

We all climbed aboard and then we sailed off toward our isolated island refuge.


	8. Unrest

Chapter 8- Unrest 

I groaned in disgust as I helplessly watched the Ragnarok fly out of my sight into the distance. We had been so close, only to come up short. It was discouraging to me. I couldn't stand to fail at anything.

"Well, what do ya know? Seifer was right," Irvine remarked in surprise.

I kept silent, electing not to gloat for once. This was a time when that certainly didn't appeal to me because I was so upset with myself over messing up everything else. I didn't feel victorious in anything at the moment, even if I had been right. I continued to stare at the point in the sky where I'd lost the airship.

"So what do we do now, guys?" Selphie inquired.

"Perhaps we should go see Laguna. He might be able to help us," Quistis suggested. "Is that all right with you, Seifer?"

I nodded my approval wordlessly without turning to face them, still wondering why she went through the formality of asking my opinion when it truly didn't matter to them. Then again, my former instructor was always one to stick to the guidelines.

I wasn't sure exactly what I was so distraught over. Maybe it was simply the fact that I had let Squall and Rinoa get away, or it could've been that I had missed an opportunity to prove I was capable of handling something important like this. I still wasn't entirely certain that I could do it myself, but I needed to succeed on this mission. 

My pride was at stake, but the self-doubt started to creep into my mind. Could I betray Squall and Rinoa, especially since I empathized with their situation? I had never hated my rival, and I still remembered the bitter sting of my own treachery I felt when I shoved one sorceress into the grasp of another. I had run as fast as I could after that, coming to my senses and realizing all that I had done. What had it all been for anyway? Empty promises and the pursuit of a hopeless dream. It hadn't been worth sacrificing everything I had for.

"Let's get a move on, Seifer," Quistis said, snapping me out of my daze.

"Right," I said.

We walked along the blue streets of Esthar, which were relatively abandoned at that hour of the morning. Only the soldiers on patrol and a few others were roaming about with us. The jaunt to the Presidential Palace was a quiet one. I figured they might have been burdened with their thoughts, as I was. We entered the grandiose building and proceeded toward the president's office. We were stopped at the door by two Esthar sentries.

"Entry not permitted," one said in an almost mechanized voice.

"We need to see President Loire," Quistis informed them.

"Entry not permitted," the other repeated in the same tone.

"Are these guys even human?" I wondered aloud.

"Not entirely. They're cyborgs, primarily used for boring jobs like this that don't require a lot of effort in which people would be prone to slack off or even fall asleep. Plus, they can stand guard all day long without ever needing to leave their posts. In battle, they're efficient fighting machines as well," Zell elaborated in an intelligent manner.

Maybe he deserved more credit than I gave him, I thought.

"Let them in," I heard a voice command from inside the office.

The two soldiers obediently and immediately stepped aside, and then held the doors open for us. We stepped inside and then they were shut instantly.

The president cut right to the chase without hesitation. "I know you guys are here about Squall and Rinoa."

_(Then why did he let us in so willingly?)_ I mused in confusion.

"Where are they?" I asked.

"I can't tell you that," he replied.

"Then why did you issue the order for Rinoa to be captured?" I inquired.

"I didn't. I'd never do that."

"Then who did?" Irvine followed up.

"As you all know, this was a worldwide effort, conceived by the governments of the various countries around the world. They thought it'd be best if we could somehow eliminate the powers of the sorceress. Then Odine invented his new machine right before he was imprisoned. All of the world leaders banded together around the idea, while I vehemently protested it. My staff, excluding Kiros and Ward, overruled me. They feared that the other nations might perceive that as supporting the sorceress, and could lead to another war…or something like that."

"Listen, we have a job to do here, and you have a part in it, too, whether you like it or not. You can't refuse to cooperate with us here, and you know it. This is a government order, after all. We could report your insubordination, and then there's no telling what'll happen to you and Esthar," I threatened, hoping to coax him.

"Then why don't you do that, huh?!" the president snapped back emotionally. "I'm not gonna betray my only son!"

I had to admire his resolve to protect Squall, despite the consequences. That didn't help us achieve our goal at the moment though. It was obvious that this man followed his heart first, which was rare to see, especially in a politician.

"We detest this as much as you do, Laguna, but we've got a job to do."

"I understand, Quistis. SeeDs are all about business, but I'm not. I'm sorry it has to be like this," he apologized.

"So are we," Irvine said. "Come on, guys. We should get going."

I noticed the looks of remorse in all of their eyes as my teammates moved toward the door. As she started to leave the office, Selphie stopped suddenly and turned around to face the man once more.

"I hope we can still be friends, Sir Laguna. Please don't hate us for this," she pleaded. "It's hard enough for us already."

With one last glance at the president of Esthar, I saw him nod almost imperceptibly and force a smile as he tenderly clutched the back of his leg. I was the last one out of the room and the cyborg soldiers closed the doors behind us.

"So what now?" Zell inquired curiously, scratching the back of his head in thoughtfulness.

"Anymore leads, Seifer?" the cowboy asked.

"None," I simply replied.

"There's no tellin' where they are now," Selphie remarked. "But while we're in Esthar, I think we should search here before goin' back to the Garden."

"But that's a ton of ground to cover," the Chicken-Wuss stated, moaning.

"I think that's what she means, Zell," Quistis intervened. "We should take care of business while we're here. It won't be easy to come back if we need to."

"Tch…I guess."

This was going to be a tedious process, and we would likely be on the continent for a while. I cringed at the thought of long hours of boredom merely searching for subtle clues of Squall and Rinoa's whereabouts. We exited the Presidential Palace and I squinted as the light of the early morning sun shone directly into my eyes. I lowered my head toward the ground, but the beams reflected off of the streets as well, causing me to turn away.

"We should decide how we're going to go about this," my former instructor said.

"Let's scan the city first before we worry about the rest of the continent," Irvine suggested.

"Let's go to Odine's Laboratory," I said. "Maybe we can find out some more about this invention of his."

"Good idea."

I allowed them to lead the way since they had more knowledge of the layout of the city. Once again, we traveled in silence. The remembrance of the task at hand rendered them quietly mournful. The various noises created by the tapping of their shoes resonated in the air. We approached the laboratory and went inside. There was only one scientist in the room, and he didn't even appear surprised to see us there.

"Who are you?" Selphie asked.

"Azariah Ropka, new head scientist in Esthar," he introduced, "and I'm well aware of who you all are."

"Then I'm sure you can guess why we're here," Irvine remarked.

"Yes, if you're searching for Odine's Sorceress Disempowering Machine, it's not here," he said.

"Then where is it?"

"The Sorceress Memorial, of course. Delightful irony, don't you think?"

Zell growled angrily and furiously shook his clenched fists. "Delightful?! How can any of this be considered delightful?! This little device of yours is gonna kill Rinoa!"

The professor was slightly taken aback, the first sign of emotion I'd seen him display. "Oh…my apologies. I did not realize it was such a sensitive subject to a SeeD. After all, most are merely callous mercenaries," he said disdainfully.

"Shut up! What do you know?!"

Ropka ignored the Chicken-Wuss, causing him to grit his teeth in an attempt to restrain himself. "Is that all you came here for?"

"One more thing," Quistis said. "Why was there a synthetic skeleton guarding the entrance to Esthar in the Great Salt Lake?"

"Ah, so you disposed of it, I assume. Odine and I concocted it to keep foreigners from stumbling onto the entrance to our city," he explained. "We don't need your kind disturbing our way of life here. You've already done enough."

_(Not a friendly character. Reminds me of some of the people from Fisherman's Horizon. They're not fond of outsiders either, for some reason. Then again, maybe this guy's got somethin' to hide.)_ I thought.

"Come on, guys. Let's go," Quistis said.

Zell lowered his fists and turned away in disgust and filed out of the laboratory with the others. I didn't even glance in his direction as I turned for the door. Then I heard Ropka call out to me.

"Seifer Almasy, aren't you?"

I was puzzled as to why this quack wanted anything to do with me. "What's it to ya?" I asked coolly, casually looking over my shoulder at him.

"Have you been experiencing some trouble sleeping lately?" he inquired curiously.

I hesitated, wondering if he was referring to my strange dreams. "…Why?"

"Oh, it's nothing," he replied with a dry chuckle. "You've got rings around your eyes, as if you've barely slept in days. You look terrible. Maybe being a SeeD is a little too burdensome on you."

I arched my eyebrows, and I began to believe that there was more to this guy than I had previously expected. With a quiet scoff, I exited the lab and joined the rest of the group.

"So our next stop is the Sorceress Memorial, right?" Selphie asked.

"Obviously," Zell replied.

"That's quite a trip without the Ragnarok though, and there's still a lot of Esthar to cover," Irvine reasoned.

"You're right," Quistis agreed. "We should split up and divide the area between us."

"How many groups?" the Chicken-Wuss asked.

"Three," I immediately responded. "One to stay here, and the other two to search out the rest of the continent. We'll be able to get things done faster."

"I didn't ask you."

"I don't care. I'm the leader here and you have to do what I say, Chicken-Wuss."

"Enough, you two," my former instructor scolded sternly. "We've got serious business to do. Selphie, you stay in the city and see what else you can find out."

"Got it!" the little messenger chirped enthusiastically.

"Irvine and Zell, you two check out the old Lunatic Pandora Lab, and then scan the southern part of the continent."

"Gotcha!" the martial artist responded with fervor, while the sharpshooter looked somewhat dissatisfied, but nodded in agreement.

"Seifer and I will go to the Sorceress Memorial, and then we'll go to the northern section of Esthar," she finished.

"Fine by me," I said.

I knew the only reason she was going with me was so that she could keep an eye on me and avoid any confrontations with the others. They were still reluctant to trust me, but I couldn't exactly blame them. I had yet to give them any reason to believe otherwise.

"We'll meet at the Airstation at dusk tomorrow. That should give us all plenty of time to get our tasks done and get some rest. If you need something, contact each other with the communicators."

"Sounds good, Quistis. See y'all later," Irvine waved, adding a tip of his hat in Selphie's direction.

Then we all parted ways and I followed my former instructor, once again letting her lead the way. "Why don't I have a communicator?" I asked.

"Oh, right! The Headmaster told me to give this to you, but with all that's been going on lately, I'd forgotten about it."

She handed me a small device, resembling a wristwatch with a speaker where the face of the clock would normally be. I strapped it around my wrist and glanced at it momentarily. It had a couple of miniscule buttons on each side, but I decided I would experiment with it later to see what the function of each was. Nodding with contentment, we moved on.

"It's a long way to the Memorial. We'll need to rent a car," Quistis explained.

I remained silent, pensive about Ropka's comments earlier. Could he have had something to do with what I thought were merely dreams? The situation was becoming more peculiar each moment as I began to comprehend what was going on. Most of it was still very ambiguous, but things were clearing up slightly. I wagered that I'd learn even more once we arrived at the Sorceress Memorial.

We rented a car, and I proceeded to get in on the passenger's side as she did the same on the driver's side. We buckled our seatbelts, and as soon as I had finished, we plunged from the station onto the intertwining streets of Esthar. My partner—for the time being—had little difficult maneuvering us into the open desert. Only the sounds of the smoothly running engine and the sand kicked up by the wheels permeated the atmosphere of the vehicle.

I only hoped that accomplishing our mission could be as simple as leaving the city, as I began to ponder how my destiny always managed to be interwoven with Squall's, much like the roads. No matter what laid ahead of me, despite all of my uncertainties, I knew one thing was for sure: he was waiting for me, and I wasn't going to disappoint him.


	9. The Stage is Set

Chapter 9- The Stage is Set 

Kiros, Rinoa, and I sat down and attempted to relax within the vessel as Ward drove it. She sat beside me on the right, while the thin, black man was on my left. The size of the boat was similar to the one I rode in during the SeeD field exam in Dollet, but its design was entirely different. The exterior was coated in a lustrous, silver-like metal, and the shape was rounded except on the top with the hatch, which was flat.

The interior was very cramped, comprised almost entirely of steel. It was obvious that the soldiers' comfort was not a high priority when it was built. The seats were made of the same substance, and I constantly shifted because of the irritation they caused. I soon realized that there was no way to avoid it and eventually settled down, deciding to hold still.

"Sorry about the lack of comfort," Kiros apologized, observing my fidgeting. We chose to take the smallest vessel available to us in order to decrease the chances of being detected by your pursuers. Usually only our cyborg soldiers use this ship, so we could afford to build it based on our budget rather than being forced to oblige to the need for comfort and convenience."

"It's fine," I waved off. I didn't like it, but I'd be able to manage it.

As usual, I drifted into deep thought as we moved speedily through the ocean waters. If we hadn't been forced to make such a hasty retreat, I would've wanted to see Ellone. I hadn't spoken to her in a long time. Even though it was primarily from a childhood that I could hardly remember, she was still "Sis" to me. There was still a special bond between us that I had difficulty explaining.

Perhaps it could've been traced to a mutual link to Laguna, even though I didn't have much of a relationship with him. However, in the time after I learned that he was my father, Ellone had desperately tried to get anything going between us. I wasn't against reconciliation by any means, but it was difficult to comprehend having a father after seventeen years. 

Naturally, I had felt sort of abandoned by him, and it seemed like he was merely dodging his responsibilities. I wondered how long that Laguna knew he had a son. Did he know that Raine was pregnant when he left, or did he find out much later? Maybe Ellone had told him when they finally met up on the Lunar Base a year previous.

Coming out of my reverie, I glanced over at Rinoa. She was squirming slightly in her seat, trying to stretch out as much as she could in the confined boat. She brushed her long, black hair back with her fingers as she attempted to straighten her legs out completely. I heard her sigh quietly, expressing her discomfort. 

Rinoa eventually noticed me watching her, and she smiled at me ever so slightly. Then she ran her hand through my hair with the intention of messing it up. I glared at her momentarily, and then I calmly tried to fix it without acting like it seriously bothered me. It was difficult, considering I couldn't actually see how it looked, but I did what I could with it.

"…How does it look?" I inquired of her, unsure of why such a trivial thing troubled me.

"It's fine, Squall," Rinoa replied with a giggle. 

I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not though. However, I was grateful once again for a welcome distraction from the matter at hand that she provided. She leaned over and gently rested her head on my shoulder. Apparently, it had been weighing heavily on her mind as well, and she was happy to be able to think of something else. I listened intently to the soft sound of Rinoa's breathing mixed with the consistent humming of the vessel as it traveled through the waters. Both were very soothing and kept me focused on more pleasant matters, if only temporarily.

"…Hey Squall," Kiros said hesitantly to get my attention.

"Yeah?"

He scratched his head briefly before beginning to speak. "Well, I'm not exactly certain about how to ask this, but Laguna insisted that I at least pose the question. When all of this is over, would you mind…returning to Esthar to spend a vacation or something?"

I didn't answer at first, unsure of what to say, and then he continued to talk.

"I know he wanted to ask you himself, but we all know how bad he is at things like that. I'm sure it'd mean a lot to him, but you don't have to decide right away. Just think about it, huh?"

I nodded my confirmation, but still remained silent. Rinoa placed her mouth right next to my ear and whispered, "I think you should do it. It'd be good for both of you."

I knew Sis would've said the same thing, and it intensified my earlier thoughts that perhaps I needed to attempt some semblance of an affiliation with my father. Having spent so much time being able to hear his every thought due to Ellone's strange connection ability, I understood what kind of person Laguna was. I knew that, in spite of his clumsy and awkward demeanor, he was a passionate person. Personally, I desired some kind of family that I was close to, but it was still a precarious situation.

Most of the voyage was spent in pensive silence, as none of us were able to suppress the anxiety of our current predicament, and the feeling pervaded the ship so greatly that it was seemingly palpable. It was impossible to be distracted from it for more than a few moments due to the possibilities that confronted us, and they were all too real.

Rinoa and I had been ceaselessly on the move since fleeing from Balamb Garden and my own command, and I contemplated how long we'd be able to rest on Laguna's island hideaway. I was running from what I considered home and the comrades whom I had slowly begun to befriend and openly confide in over the course of the past year or so. Now they were hunting us, and as SeeDs, they would chase us relentlessly until their mission was accomplished.

I wondered if there was a solution that would result in the two of us being liberated from the role of being the prey. Could we truly win against Balamb Garden, in particular my friends along with my fiercest rival? How long could we elude them before we were finally caught?

"Squall, you're really tense," Rinoa stated with concern as she tenderly rubbed my shoulders. "What's wrong? Don't tell me it's nothing either 'cause I know you better than that."

I sighed audibly, reluctant to answer her and convey my doubts to her. I needed to be a pillar of strength for her during these challenging times, and I couldn't allow my fears to crumble it as she leaned on me for support. "…I'd rather not talk about it now."

"Oh…I understand," Rinoa said, although her tone of voice clearly indicated that she was upset about it. She wouldn't push me because she could tell that it was disconcerting me greatly.

We were inside the vessel for hours, but exactly how many I wasn't sure. After taking the circuitous route around the continent, Ward signaled that we had arrived. He grabbed a decent-sized box as he opened the hatch and climbed out, carrying it loosely under his muscular arm. All of us gladly got out of the ship as well, placing our feet upon the shore. The tide lightly brushed its waves over our feet.

I stretched my arms out as I gazed up at the heavens. I guessed it had to have been around midnight or later, as I observed the moon adoring the blackness as a white jewel with a faint glow high in the cloudless night sky. The stars were plenteous, appearing to be clustered in close vicinity throughout, although I knew it wasn't truly that way. I couldn't recall seeing so many at one time in my life, although perhaps the Guardian Forces dwelling within the recesses of my memory had something to do with it.

I glanced over at Rinoa, who was also staring in silent awe at the splendors of the universe. She loved watching the stars at night; she was simply amazed by them. There were many times she had dragged me outside with her to view them. I hadn't minded much since I was with her. Plus, there was an inexplicable aesthetic beauty to the multitude of stars that filled the cosmos.

"Well, we need to get back to Esthar. Who knows what Laguna might do without us to advise him," Kiros joked, even though there was a definite ring of truth to it. "Just call us on those communicators if you need anything."

"Thanks. Here are the items you need for the gunblade," I said, exchanging them with Ward for the box he possessed, which was fairly heavy.

"The food in there should be able to last you for a week or so," the witty aide stated. "Good luck, you two."

Somberly, Rinoa and I turned away and walked toward the cabin in the center of the tiny island as they went aboard their vessel. We heard it race through the waters as they embarked on the journey back to Esthar. 

I couldn't see the cabin very well in the darkness, but I could tell that it was made of a thick wood, possibly oak. It was rather small, resembling a cottage that might be found deep in a forest. Its boards were placed horizontally in perfect rows and columns. Its roof was flat, meaning the shape of it was practically a square, and it almost looked like a box, from what I could distinguish.

There were windows on either side of the door, and I placed my hand on the knob, turning it unhurriedly. As I opened it, I stepped inside and was plunged into total darkness. I took a few tentative steps, extending my hands out to touch anything that was in front of me. I managed to eventually find a small table, which I nearly knocked over because my right leg slammed into it.

I quickly reached my arm down to steady the piece of furniture, and I heard something on the top of it wobble momentarily and then fall over. There was a metallic clang as it hit the table, and I slid my hand over the surface until I made contact with it. The bottom of the item was round with a handle on one end, so I wrapped my fingers around it and lifted it. Slowly feeling for texture and shape, I discovered that there was something inserted into the metal, so I assumed that it was a holder of some type. 

The second object was straight, thin, and rounded like a stick. I perceived that the material was somewhat soft as small flakes broke off as I touched it. I reached the top and felt the short wick, confirming my notion of what I had managed to find.

"It's a candle," I announced to Rinoa, who stood outside waiting.

I brought it to her and requested that she would light it. With a quick snap of her fingers, a brief flicker of fire emanated from her fingertip, and the flame danced to life on top of the wax candle. Her magical sorceress powers seemed to flow freely through her body, and it was effortless for her to cast even the most destructive spells repeatedly.

The two of us entered the cabin and the light guided us across the room. It was fairly nondescript for the most part. Nothing was spread upon the wooden floor, and besides the one small, round table I had bumped into earlier, there were two more on opposite sides with candles residing on top as well. In the corner next to the door was a small container, and I opened it to see what was inside. There were several more candles identical to the others in the cabin. 

Three cots were lined up parallel along the back of the room, and a fishing pole rested beside each. "Let's just go to sleep," I suggested, placing the candle upon its vacant tabletop, and proceeded to close the door as well.

"Sounds good to me. I'm tired."

I unsheathed my slightly damaged gunblade and prudently placed it in the corner next to the only bed we didn't intend to use, out of harm's way. I walked around the room and blew out the candles. I watched the wisps of smoke float in a random pattern toward the ceiling until the third, when the room once again became consumed with darkness. I slid under the covers of one of the beds, and was relieved to be able to fully stretch out my limbs. Filled with comforting warmth, I gradually drifted off into slumber.

When I roused from my sleep, I tiredly opened my eyes and gazed around the room. I realized that I was alone as I saw the ruffled sheets of Rinoa's unoccupied cot. As I lethargically arose out of bed, I felt and heard my joints perceptibly pop and crack. I noticed that her shoes were lying in front of her bed, and I stepped up to the window. I spotted her standing on the edge of the island, staring at the boundless ocean.

I opened the door and shielded my eyes from the bright rays of the early morning sun. I raised my other hand to my face and stifled a sneeze. My footsteps were quiet upon the thick grass, which was grown up to my ankles. I browsed over the island, which was virtually nothing besides the grass and the cabin. There was nothing else upon its surface, other than a miniscule strip of sand, which went around the outer perimeter.

Rinoa stood on that slim shoreline while the ocean rushed its waves upon her bare feet. Then the water rolled back a short distance, and the process was repeated.

"What are you doing?" I inquired quizzically.

She turned around to face me, but remained standing in the tide's path. "Letting the waves splash on my feet. Have you ever tried it, Squall?"

"No…Not that I can recall," I replied, cognizant of the GF's effects on my memories.

"It's one of those simple pleasures in life I always tell you about. You need to indulge in them sometimes, you know. I'm sure even you need to let loose and relax once in a while, imperturbable as you are," Rinoa commented with a smile. Then she beckoned me with her index finger. "Come on."

"What?"

"Take off your shoes and try it."

"…Why?" I asked in uncertainty.

"Because it's fun! You need to have some fun in life, Squall. You're always so serious. For me, it feels good just to feel the wet sand squishing in between my toes. You need to enjoy simple things like this. I'm sure you'd like it if you tried it! Please?" she begged, drawing out the last syllable in almost a whining tone.

"Fine," I acquiesced.

Rinoa clapped her hands together gleefully as I kicked my boots off, and then pulled off my socks. I tossed them onto the grass, out of the ocean's way, and stepped onto the beach—if it could be called that—and stood beside her. The water was warm as it washed over my feet. I stared at them and noticed that the wet sand, rushed in aggressively by the tide, had accumulated on top of my skin. The damp grains felt strange, but yet the whole experience was soothing, as my girlfriend had insisted.

Rinoa smiled cheerfully and grabbed my hand, intertwining her fingers with my own. "I told you it'd be good for you."

"Yeah," I simply admitted.

We stood there for several minutes, never speaking a word, but rather listening to the roar of the tide and feeling its relentless waves on our bare feet. I took more pleasure in it than I had expected, and I began to comprehend what she meant by the simple pleasures of life. Eventually, we did walk away, but I didn't forget the experience.

Throughout the day, Rinoa never went into the cabin, preferring to revel in the wonders of nature. I ventured back and forth often, seeking a solution to the boredom that came with such a restrained isolation. I enjoyed spending time with her, but having nothing to occupy my time tended to get me thinking too much. I certainly didn't want to do that, especially at a time like that.

I decided to grab one of the fishing poles lying beside the cots. I had never really been into that pastime, but I was aware that it required a great deal of concentration and patience. It wasn't as easy as it appeared to be, and I knew that. Perhaps it would allow me to pass the time quickly without worrying about other things.

I walked out to the very tip of the shoreline and drew back the rod slowly. Then I cast the lure into the sea, and carefully began reeling the line back toward me, hoping for a bite before it had completely returned. Having no success on my first attempt, I tried again. Even though that was also to no avail, I was persistent and continued the activity.

Rinoa casually sauntered over to my side and stared at me in silence. I caught her out of the corner of my eye, smiling brightly.

"…What?" I asked.

"It's nothing. I just want to watch you," she replied. "Is that okay with you?"

"It's fine."

I didn't fully understand why she decided to do that, but I guessed that maybe she only wanted to enjoy the few peaceful moments we would have together for a long while. I couldn't object to that myself. We made small talk throughout the afternoon as I fished. I didn't catch more than a few tiny fish, which I threw back into the ocean, but I didn't care too much.

As the sun began to set, I squinted as some object I spotted approaching in the distance. "What is that?" I mused aloud.

"I can't see it very well either," Rinoa said.

As it closed in on our location and became more visible, my eyes widened in surprise. I tossed the fishing pole aside and activated the communicator I had been given. "Kiros?"

"Squall? What is it?" he inquired with concern, sensing the tension in my voice.

"Get over here now! It's urgent!"


	10. Trust Me

Chapter 10- Trust Me 

I stared out the passenger window at the spanning deserts of Esthar as Quistis silently drove the car that we had rented. I observed the sand that was sent high into the air by the rapidly spinning wheels, and the miniscule particles repeatedly beat against the glass with an irritating tapping noise. I was immeasurably bored by the inaction and monotonous landscape; I hated not being able to do anything.

I slowly traced my index finger across my scar, which brought to mind my fierce rivalry with Squall and the latest chapter we were adding to it. If everything went according to plan, and if my strange vision turned out to be reality, it would also be the last. I had always desired to claim superiority over him, but I wasn't sure I wanted it to go to this extent. For so many years, our competitive fire had burned so deeply and I believed it was an integral part of both of our lives. What would it be like to intentionally destroy a part of myself, and what would I have left, since my obsession of becoming a sorceress' knight had been abruptly ended? It had been painful to release my hold on that piece of me.

"Seifer," Quistis began, interrupting my thoughts, "do you ever…regret what you did?"

The query was completely random, and I looked at her with my eyebrows arched. "What…?"

"What you did as Ultimecia's knight…Do you ever regret that?" she repeated.

Why did she even care? Did she want to take some pride in my remorse, both of us knowing that I had been in the wrong? Did she rejoice in the fact that I had been abased after I had thought I was on top of the world? I didn't understand what motive she had or what she could possibly hope to gain from my confession of shame.

"I can tell that you've changed, Seifer. It even shows in your reaction. The old Seifer wouldn't have hesitated to say that he didn't regret anything. The cockiness is still there, but not to the same extent. However, maybe it's this mission that's causing this. You've been very pensive recently, and maybe it's because you actually empathize with Squall and Rinoa."

_(Well, she's quite observant, isn't she?)_ I thought. "Why are you asking me this now?"

"Everybody deserves another opportunity to succeed. That's why you're in SeeD now. I want you to feel like you're one of us and not some outsider. Despite what we've been through, you still have a part with us, Seifer."

"How can you be so easily accepting of me after what I've done?" I asked incredulously.

"Because I know you. You were an arrogant bully who was looking for a fight, but you weren't a mass murderer, by any means. Ultimecia manipulated you, and as much as those who hate you would like to deny that, they know it's the truth. I'm not saying that I can readily forgive or trust you, but I'm willing to try. You've suffered internally for your actions, and it's made you a new man," Quistis explained. "I don't expect you to pal around with us all the time, but I think it'd be good if we could be able to trust each other, even just a little."

I hadn't anticipated my former instructor's kindness, and it caught me off guard. She did have a point about trust though, and I thought it was amazing how astute she was. I couldn't find the right words, so I opted to nod my head to signify that I understood what she was saying.

The journey continued quietly, and I was left to my own musings. I felt like I could at least trust Quistis when the time came, and I was aware that I would eventually need their help. Maybe this assignment was softening me because people usually weren't able to see through what I displayed on the outside. I had only felt somewhat comfortable confiding in Fujin and Raijin, and even then I had difficulty telling them my utmost personal feelings and experiences.

Then again, I didn't know a whole lot about my silver-haired comrade either, but I had never attempted to inquire about her past. I could only assume that it had been very distressing for her. Only the other member of the posse openly spoke about himself. He talked without reserve concerning just about anything, and although his constant babbling gave the impression that he was an idiot, he was actually quite intelligent. Raijin's main fault was that he often made outbursts before he gave himself a chance to think.

Eventually, my recent lack of rest caught up with me and I dozed off. Once again, I had a strange dream. I saw the Ragnarok landed in a forest near the coast with Squall and Rinoa stepping off of the airship with two other figures that I couldn't clearly recognize. Then I saw the four boarding a boat and speeding off into the ocean.

Before the "revelation" could continue any further, I was awakened by Quistis repeatedly nudging me. "What?! What is it?!" I snapped grumpily as my eyes gradually opened.

"We're at the Sorceress Memorial, Seifer," she informed. "Let's get going."

I gazed around with weary eyes and noticed that night was falling. I opened the door and languidly stepped out, stretching my limbs to get loosened up after sitting so long in one place. I took a few groggy steps as I was still trying to completely wake up. 

I groaned loudly as I noticed the numerous stairs we had to climb. It wasn't something I wanted to do so shortly after rousing from sleep. It almost seemed like an arduous trial to reach the top, even with all the conditioning I'd had. I tried to act like it didn't bother me as I walked.

Two of Esthar's soldiers were guarding the entrance to the Memorial. "You're not allowed in here. This is a restricted area," one of them warned.

"What's in there that we ain't supposed to see, huh?" I questioned.

"Listen, only authorized personnel are permitted in here. No exceptions for anyone. We've already made that mistake once before."

My patience was already wearing thin and I persisted. "You're gonna let us in there," I said through clenched teeth.

"What are ya going to do when I don't?" he retorted calmly.

"Oh, you wanna know what I'll do…?" I asked as I stealthily reached into my trench coat and grabbed Hyperion by its hilt.

Quistis must have seen what I was attempting to do and quickly intervened, stepping between us and, placing her hands on my shoulders, slightly pushed my away from the guards. "Seifer, don't!" she reprimanded in a whisper. "Don't cause any trouble! It's not going to help us here! Just let it go!"

"But we need to get in there!" I challenged.

"But we can't! We can't fight them unless you want the entire Esthar army after us!"

"Bring them on," I said confidently.

"Oh, stop that! Quit being so reckless, Seifer! Even you know that we can't afford to do something like this!" Quistis exclaimed.

I relinquished my grip on my gunblade and reluctantly acquiesced. "Fine."

My former instructor breathed a sigh of relief and took her hands off of me. "Thank you."

We walked back down the stairs to our rental care, and, before we got inside, I remembered my dream. "Hey, are there forests on this continent?"

"Yes, on the northeastern part," she responded.

"Let's go there," I insisted.

"Why?"

"Somethin's over there," I said.

"What exactly?"

"The Ragnarok," I replied.

"How can you possibly know that?" Quistis asked in confusion.

"Hey, have I been wrong yet on this mission?" I asked, hesitant to divulge the truth since it would likely decrease the idea's credibility to her.

"Somehow these wild goose chases we've been on have yielded positive results so far, but we can't take risks like this on a hunch," the ever popular SeeD stated firmly.

This was all too weird to be just a hunch, I thought. For some reason, the previous dream had steered us in the right direction, and it seemed like a good idea to me to follow them until they were wrong since we had no leads.

"What do we have to lose here?" I asked, still relentless in my endeavor to persuade her.

"Time and ground. We're supposed to search this area," Quistis answered, equally stubborn. "Besides, if it's there as you say, Irvine and Zell will find it."

"Not necessarily. There's always a chance they'll miss it if they don't know where to look. Just make contact with them and tell them to investigate this."

She eyed my skeptically, still doubting my farfetched notion.

"Trust me," I said to remind her of the words she had said to me earlier.

Quistis nodded, and then activated her communicator. "Irvine, Zell, this is Quistis. You there?"

"Hey, this is Irvine here. What is it, Quisty?" the cowboy replied, the transmission coming in surprisingly clear with no static whatsoever. I even heard the roar of their car's engine roaring in the background.

"Where are you?" she asked.

"Well, we left the Lunatic Pandora Lab a long time ago. No luck there though. It's almost entirely abandoned now, and the only scientist there didn't know anything useful. We've been drivin' ever since then…"

"You mean I've been drivin' ever since!" I heard Zell shout in frustration, interrupting him.

The sharpshooter ignored him and finished his report. "…Hard to say where we are exactly."

"Are you near the forests?" Quistis followed up.

"Yeah, I can see them in the distance. Why do you ask?"

"I need you guys to check them out…"

"Near the coast," I added.

"…Check out the ones near the coast. I've got reason to believe the Ragnarok is there."

"The Ragnarok? Why would it be there?" Irvine inquired, puzzled.

"Perhaps Squall and Rinoa hid it away, hoping we wouldn't find it. They would be really conspicuous flying around in it," Quistis reasoned, I believed trying to avoid making it sound like it was my proposal so they would buy it.

"You've got a point, but are you sure about this, Quistis? I mean, it sounds a little…too good to be true."

"Perhaps it is, but we'll have to find out. Will you do it?" she requested.

"Sure thing. It's not like we have anywhere else to go anyway."

"Let me know if you find it."

"Right. We're on our way as we speak. Irvine out," he said, and then the communication ceased.

"So what do we do now?" I asked in ennui.

"I suppose we can only wait to see if your latest crazy idea pays off," my former instructor replied. "Where do you come up with these anyway?"

"They just occur to me," I lied. "All it takes is a little deductive reasoning. Nobody knows Squall better than me."

"I'll give you that," she concurred," but you can figure out his every move that easily simply because you know him? I find that hard to believe."

"It shouldn't be, considering my superior intellect. You should know that well enough, my dear instructor."

My blonde teammate shook her head, and then she briefly smiled. "Some things never changed, no matter what, it seems. Even now, you still have that confident demeanor."

"Hey Quisty!" a voice suddenly chirped from our communicators.

Quistis raised the device close to her mouth and began to speak. "Selphie? What is it?"

"Just callin' to let you know what's goin' on here!" she informed. "There's really nothing of interest to tell you. Everyone but that Ropka guy is totally clueless, but he won't tell me anything else! I did learn that Kiros and Ward left about the same time as the Ragnarok, but I dunno if that would mean anything, as far as our mission is concerned."

_(Those were the president's advisors, right? Then that might explain the other two figures in my dream.)_ I thought.

"By the way," the little messenger continued, "I overheard what you said to Irvine. Sorry, but it's kinda hard to prevent! I'm sure he's listening to us right now, too! Anyway, if we find the Ragnarok, where are we gonna go?"

Quistis looked at me expectantly, but I merely shrugged my shoulders. "I thought you knew Squall's every move," she said, lowering the communicator from her lips to avoid being heard.

"Well, I doubt Squall chose where they went," I stated.

"What are you saying?" she asked curiously.

"It's probably the president who's hiding him. I'm guessing that's why his two aides left at about the same time," I explained.

Quistis activated the device again and finally answered Selphie. "I'm not entirely sure where we'll go. We'll decide when we get together again."

"Sounds good to me! But I think I'm gonna find a place to rest for the night. I'm sleepy! Selphie over and out!"

My former instructor looked over at me. "Maybe we should get some sleep as well. Besides, it's sort of cold out here."

"Where are we gonna sleep?" I asked.

"There's no way we can reach Esthar again before morning, so we'll have to sleep in the car," she replied.

"Great," I replied sarcastically as I got into the rental vehicle.

It was actually fairly warm inside for some reason, and I was surprised how easily and how well I slept that night. I was pleased that I had no dreams and I was able to rest peacefully. In the morning, I was awakened by a voice echoing from my communicator. "Quistis, where are you two at?" It was Irvine's voice.

"We're still at the Sorceress Memorial," she answered. Apparently, she had already woken up.

"Great! So like, we'll be there in a little bit. Irvine out."

I ran my hand through my hair, and then I got out of the car. I was painfully stiff, so I desperately needed to stretch. The sleep had been refreshing, but I couldn't stand to be so cramped up. I paced aimlessly around the vehicle in immense boredom, occasionally kicking sand into the air with my shoes.

Quistis rolled down the window on the driver's side, electing not to exit the car. "They found it, Seifer."

"I figured that out," I answered.

"Well, you were right again," she admitted.

"Of course. What'd you expect?"

Eventually, I spotted the Ragnarok coming our way, and then my teammate finally decided to step out of the vehicle as well. As it slowly descended, it generated a high amount of wind that pushed my hair back and practically created a miniature sandstorm. I shielded my eyes until I heard the sound of the vessel landing, and the engines were cut off.

We got on board, and Irvine was waiting patiently for us. He led us to the bridge where Zell was in the pilot's seat with his hands on the controls.

"Zell! Let's go!" the cowboy exclaimed.

"And be quick about it, Chicken-Wuss," I added antagonistically as I strolled over to the gunner's chair and sat down.

"Hey! You wanna fly this thing, huh?! You think you could do any better than me?"

"Well, that's obvious," I replied coolly.

The martial artist gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and loudly exhaled an exasperated breath. His fists tightened around the airship's controls as he exclaimed, "Yo Irvine! Tell Selphie we're comin'!"

"Don't worry. I'm on it," he replied nonchalantly, activating his communicator. "Hey Selphie, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Irvy!" the eternally optimistic SeeD answered in a singsong voice.

"Meet us at the Airstation. We're on our way."

"Whoo-hoo! Awesome! I'll be waiting!"

The expedition to Esthar was much quicker in the Ragnarok, and it seemed like hardly any time had passed before we landed compared to our initial trip, although I couldn't say for sure how long it had actually been. I heard Selphie's shoes pounding on the metal floor as she dashed toward the bridge almost immediately after the airship touched the ground.

"Move over, Zell! I'm flyin' this thing now! I've missed the Rag!" she said energetically.

"Be my guest," he said, voluntarily abdicating the pilot's seat. "It's about time I get a chance just to sit back and relax."

The little messenger hopped into the position, and the Ragnarok took off with much a rush that I was forced to firmly grip my chair to avoid being pushed back by the velocity. She had too much liveliness for her own good, and besides being annoying, it also made her a danger to herself and to me, most importantly. I'd never met someone who could maintain such a bubbly personality all the time.

"Where are we headed, guys?" Selphie asked curiously.

"Circumnavigate the continent," Quistis commanded. "I doubt they've gotten a long distance away without the airship, especially if Laguna is the one protecting them."

The spunky SeeD flew west to the Horizon Bridge and began exploring the outside of the continent in a counterclockwise direction. We were as close to the ground as possible in order to be able to spot them more easily. We found many islands that were inhabited only by monsters as the day wore on closer to sunset. The ocean waters gradually changed from its usual shade to a reddish-purple color due to the effects of the dusk.

Eventually, we came across an almost imperceptible island that I could barely see, even as low as we were flying. "Stop there!" I ordered, following my intuition.

"Why?" Zell asked, questioning my orders.

"Because I'm the leader and I said so!"

"Enough of your power trip, Seifer," Irvine said.

"Just do it," Quistis said resolutely. "I can actually see some signs of human life there. See the small cabin right in the center?"

Selphie slowed the Ragnarok down to examine it closely, squinting her eyes. "Yep, there's a little house in the middle of the island! But there's no place for us to land!"

"Then drop us off," I told her.

"Okay, but you're gonna get a little wet, and it's not gonna be easy to board again! Hold on tight!"

Irvine grinned and waved at the little messenger as he made his way toward the lift. She waved back enthusiastically with a huge smile that revealed almost every tooth in her mouth. As we made our way off of the Ragnarok, I realized that we were already under water. 

I hurriedly swam to the surface, and then I waded through the shallow water onto the shore and scrutinized my trench coat carefully as the others got off of the vessel. It was soaked, so I attempted to wring it out. Then my eyes came across the rip under the armpit and I moaned in disgust. Apparently, Quistis noticed me inspecting it and reached in her hand to touch it.

"How'd you tear it…?"

I slapped her hand away angrily. I didn't want to even discuss the duel with Squall right after I had become a SeeD. I wanted to put any failures out of my mind if I was about to confront him. "Don't touch that!"

She quickly backed away from me, and I was amazed that she didn't say a word, as if she actually had respect for my discomfort. I guessed that she thought it was because I treasured my coat, which I did, but that wasn't the entire story. I wasn't going to relay it to any of them either.

I approached the wooden cabin's door as I reached my hand inside of my trench coat to grab Hyperion in order to be prepared for whatever was behind it. I cautiously placed my free hand on the knob, slowly twisted it, and then I swung it open as I pulled out my gunblade.


	11. Rivals

**Chapter 11- Rivals**

"Rinoa, let's get inside the cabin. This is about to get ugly," I warned.

"Why in there?" she asked in perplexity. "We won't have any maneuverability."

"Yeah, but neither will they," I answered. "Plus, it gives us the element of surprise, and we need all the help we can get."

The Ragnarok was slowing down and gradually descending upon our location, and so the two of us hurried into the small cabin. As I slammed the door, I immediately turned around to face it, backing up toward the far wall near the bed as I drew my gunblade. I scrutinized my weapon one last time before it would be put to the true test. I sighed audibly, still uncertain if it was sturdy enough to withstand a ferocious duel with whomever stepped through that door.

_(I hope it manages to hold up.)_ I thought.

I assumed my battle stance as I heard the sound of the doorknob slowly twisting. Then the door swung open to reveal Seifer standing there with my other friends right behind him. Only the door slamming loudly against the wall permeated the otherwise deafening silence in the room. His gunblade was drawn as well, and I could see the competitive fire burning in his eyes along with the arrogant sneer that generally accompanied it.

"Well, well…Here we are, together again, but my, how the tables have turned!" he said with a smirk, stepping into the cabin. The rest did not follow him, but merely stood there as if they were unable to move. "This is it, Squall! Nowhere to run for either of us! It all ends here!"

I stayed in my stance, ready to charge at any time, but I remained calm. I elected to say nothing in response to my rival. Seifer pointed the tip of Hyperion at me, beckoning me to fight him.

"What's the matter? Aren't you glad to see me, Squall? This is a glorious occasion! Our last battle…I thought even you'd be excited to see this day." He drew closer with delays between his steps, as if trying to act menacing as he approached. "You're not gonna let me take Rinoa from you without a struggle, are you?"

"Never!" I yelled, immediately swiping at his gunblade forcefully.

I caught him off guard, nearly disarming him. He managed to hold onto his weapon, and I lunged at his chest without hesitation to capitalize on his vulnerability. Seifer barely managed to dodge it, spinning toward my right side. He extended his gunblade as he made a complete revolution, trying to decapitate me, but I ducked below it. Almost instinctively, he leapt back out of my range as I aimed low for his knees, as if he was anticipating it.

I rose back to my feet and simply stood there, staring down my lifelong opponent. Only the two of us had even moved at all. Rinoa remained motionless behind me, and the others were still waiting outside of the cabin.

"Not bad, Squall! But we've only just begun!" Seifer exclaimed.

He aggressively slashed at me, but I parried. Then he immediately pressed his weight forward, trying to overpower me as only our gunblades separated us from one another. We tested each other's strength for a while, and I gradually began to push him back toward the door. Even as Seifer struggled, his air of conceit was ever-present in his eyes as we stared intently without either of us flinching. I heard one of his shoes softly brush against the grass as I continued to force him outside.

Suddenly, he reached out his left leg and swept my feet out from under me. I landed roughly on the floor, losing my grip on my gunblade. I felt around for it with my hands, sliding over the wood without ever taking my eyes off of Seifer. My rival glared down at me as if he was already victorious, and menacingly raised the Hyperion to deal the final blow.

"This is it, Squall! So long!"

Without hesitation, I moved my right leg swiftly across the floor and kicked the door that had remained ajar. It slammed into his face and he yelled out in pain. Quickly, I reclaimed my gunblade and scurried to my feet. With an enraged grunt, Seifer broke the door off of its hinges, accompanied by the sound of dry wood being split apart. As it dropped to the floor, he quickly raised his hand to his face, but it didn't help much. The blood flowed freely and ran off of his chin. Some of it stained his shirt and trenchcoat, while other droplets splattered quietly on the cabin floor.

Seifer's labored breathing prevailed over everything, though all else was mere silence. He removed his gloved hand from his busted nose and glanced at it briefly. Then he looked at me disdainfully, blood still pouring profusely from his injury though it had lessened slightly.

"Quick thinking, but you're only delaying the inevitable!" Seifer proclaimed confidently, having to spit out his own blood as he spoke.

"Your incessant babbling is boring me, Seifer," I said in irritation. "Do you always have to reassure yourself like that when you're losing?"

He appeared taken aback by my comments. "Never would've expected to hear something like that outta you, Squall. I suppose even you're prone to change from time to time," he said. "But if you insist, no more talk! We'll just let our gunblades speak for us!"

He charged aggressively, but I was forced to stand my ground to avoid letting him get near Rinoa. His flurry of attacks came from every direction, and I had difficulty keeping up with him. I was severely limited in my options due to the tight quarters and my current situation as well.

"Come on, Squall!" I heard Rinoa shout in encouragement, and I remembered why I was doing this in the first place.

I refused to allow myself to quit, and as I continued to endure Seifer's barrage, my adrenaline was gradually rising to its peak.

_(It's time for…)_

"Renzokuken!"

The sheer intensity of my attacks drove my rival toward the open space where the door used to be, but he still managed to parry every one of them.

_(He knows me too well. I can't get anything by him.)_ I mused in frustration.

As Seifer moved backwards, he suddenly lost his balance and stumbled backwards until he fell onto the grass outside. I glanced at the floor and realized that he had tripped over the door that he had ripped off of the hinges. I rushed forward to capitalize on my opponent's vulnerability as he scampered back to his feet. He quickly got back into position and assumed his fighting stance. 

He looked over at my former comrades and yelled, "Hey! You guys just gonna stand there or what?! Get him!"

None of them moved, and we all stared at each other apprehensively in uncomfortable silence. "What did I just say?! Get him!" Seifer angrily repeated.

I heard Rinoa slowly approach me from behind, and she whispered in my ear, "Let me help you. I can fight when I'm with you."

I quickly muttered "No" without moving my lips.

"But they won't hurt me. They need me. Plus, they can't do anything about my sorceress powers. Please, Squall!" she pleaded. "You can't beat them all by yourself, and you know that."

"…Fine, I can't stop you anyway, but keep your distance. Nothing impulsive."

As I gazed around at my former comrades, anticipating who would strike first, I ran my fingers along my gunblade. It seemed to have held up pretty well while I was dueling with Seifer, and I thought it might last until Kiros could arrive. It could be a while before he could come to our rescue though.

I watched Selphie reluctantly pull out her nunchaku with a bit of reluctance. Even she didn't say a word; there was no reason to speak anyway. She swung her weapon at me somewhat timidly, and I easily parried.

"…Don't hold back. You know what you have to do," I told her.

I don't know what possessed me to say that, but I felt like they needed some sort of justification for what they were doing. Naturally, it wasn't to my benefit to tell Selphie just to attack me, but I could tell that none of them really wanted to do this. Perhaps I didn't want them to feel guilty about having to take Rinoa from me because I understood their situation.

"But Squall, I…"

"I know. I don't like this any more than you do, but this isn't your fault. I've gotta do this, and so do you."

She nodded in acceptance, and we each resumed our battle stances. She hardened her face, appearing more gravely serious than I thought was possible for her. She cried out and her nunchaku came at my head with blinding speed. I ducked as I held up my gunblade to block it. Our weapons met with a fierce clang, and I winced as I stumbled backwards. Selphie aggressively followed up with a low sweep along the ground. I couldn't regain my balance in time to get out of the way, and my legs were taken out. I fell onto the soft grass, but it didn't ease the pain in my knees.

I prevented myself from succumbing to the instinct of closing my eyes, and I saw the nunchaku coming straight toward my face. I swiped my gunblade across my body and caught the chain; Selphie's weapon wrapped around my blade due to its momentum. Using my strength to my advantage, I powerfully yanked backwards, and she had no choice but to be dragged toward me. She tried to stay on her feet, but she eventually tumbled and rolled along the ground.

Our weapons untangled, and I scurried to my feet in an attempt to capitalize on the situation. With great agility, Selphie leapt back up and instinctively assumed a defensive stance as she turned around to face me. I slashed downward with a grunt, but she fully extended her nunchaku to block it. The tough steel seemed to be unbreakable, which was fortunate for her. I clenched my teeth as I used my strength to try to gain some leverage over her, but she didn't budge. 

In frustration, I kicked at her petite frame, but Selphie speedily pulled back and cartwheeled out of my range. Her pure quickness made her a tough target to hit, and I began to realize how aggravating it must have been for her foes to fight her. I was very impressed with her ability; she was better in combat than I previously thought. She knew when to take a situation seriously, and I knew I couldn't afford to underestimate her again.

We both stood still for a few moments, and then I beckoned her to come at me with my gunblade because I had no intention of going after her. She might have been out of striking distance for me, but the incredible reach of her weapon made it easy for her to attack me. The flat side of my blade stopped her nunchaku, and she hurried to retract it.

Then Selphie began to twirl her weapon in an ostentatious display at a high speed. I tried to keep my eyes on it, but I remained aware and defensive of what she might do. I assumed Seifer's stance, holding my gunblade out with only one hand because it was better suited for defense. 

Then, without warning, she struck at my right side, but I was ready for it. I parried with my gunblade and quickly reached out my left hand to grab the chain. I began to slowly drag Selphie toward me, and for some reason, she refused to relinquish her grip on her nunchaku as she struggled. My heart pounded as I realized that I had the opportunity to finish off one of my friends, and I wondered if I would be able to do it.

Before I had a chance to decide, a whip cracked against my wrist, and the excruciating pain was too much to allow me to hold onto the nunchaku any longer. Selphie stumbled backward and landed on the ground as I briefly examined my wound. The fabric of my jacket had been torn to shreds, and blood was flowing from an open cut. Nonchalantly, I turned to face my former instructor Quistis, trying to act as if the injury didn't faze me.

"Sorry, but this is business," she said.

"Then let's get on with it," I replied calmly.

"I never expected that I would be forced to fight my best student," she commented.

"That's the nature of being a SeeD," I added. "You can't choose your enemies."

"You're right."

Without hesitation, she wrapped her whip around my legs before I could react. I couldn't move at all, and she roughly pulled back, forcing me to the ground with a quiet thud. Then she unwound her weapon from my legs and quickly attacked again. There was a sharp crack as it struck me diagonally across the chest. I yelled out in pain, and I saw that my white shirt had been ripped open and whatever was left of it was being quickly drenched with my blood.

Quistis coldly and accurate hit the same spot once more, and it almost felt like her whip had cut to the bone. She tried it again, but I managed to roll out of the way in desperation. As I struggled to rise to my feet, she continued to attack me ceaselessly. I was lashed across the back multiple times, but the rush of adrenaline refused to let me fall down to the ground again.

My teeth gnashed together as I tried to hold back cries of anguish, and I blindly slashed with my gunblade in hopes of deflecting her whip. It wrapped around the blade, and my sheer power extracted it from her hands. I charged at Quistis, and she tripped as she attempted to get out of my way. I stopped directly in front of her, and I could feel the wind blowing against my bare back, which was searing in pain. I realized that most of my leather jacket had been destroyed by her repeated strikes. With an expressionless face, I raised my gunblade over my head, dreading to deliver the final blow.

Then I heard the sound of a shotgun clicking directly behind me. "Not so fast, buddy," Irvine warned.

_Note: I apologize for such a large gap between chapters. Sometimes you just have periods where you're not motivated to write, or you don't know what to write. I'll try to avoid that in the future and write more frequently if I can._


	12. Don't Be Afraid

**Chapter 12- Don't Be Afraid**

Immediately after I opened the door, my eyes met with Squall's. His gunblade was already drawn, prepared for our inevitable battle. Any doubts I had of whether or not I could fight him were instantly replaced with my natural competitive desire. I lived for the battle with my lifelong rival, as if this was the destiny I couldn't escape from.

That brief moment we stared each other down seemed like an eternity, and then I was abruptly returned to reality as the door slammed against the wall. Almost instinctively, fighting words started pouring out of my mouth as I stepped inside the cabin.

"Well, well…Here we are, together again, but my, how the tables have turned! This is it, Squall! Nowhere to run for either of us! It all ends here!"

He said nothing in reply to me. In fact, he didn't even budge from his fighting stance. I pointed Hyperion at him and beckoned him to make the first strike, but he still didn't move. I smirked confidently and methodically drew closer to him.

"What's the matter? Aren't you glad to see me, Squall? This is a glorious occasion! Our last battle…I thought even you'd be excited to see this day." Even still, he didn't elicit the slightest response to my taunting, but I knew something that would rile him up for sure. "You're not gonna let me take Rinoa from you without a struggle, are you?"

The words had scarcely left my mouth when Squall powerfully swung his gunblade at my head. "Never!"

I was barely able to raise my gunblade to defend myself, and I almost lost my grip due to the sheer force of the attack. His emotional attachment to Rinoa was even stronger than I thought. As I was defenseless, he lunged at my chest to take advantage of the situation, but I quickly spun to my left to get out of the way. I allowed my momentum to turn me all the way around as I left my gunblade extended. Squall ducked as it harmlessly passed over his head.

As soon as I realized I had missed, I jumped backwards to avoid giving my rival another open shot at me. I had anticipated correctly as I saw his weapon slash through the empty air where I had been only a moment before. He silently glared at me as he slowly rose back up.

"Not bad, Squall! But we've only just begun!" I yelled, charging at him.

I wanted the upper hand this time, so I made sure to attack before he had a chance to retaliate. He blocked, but I leaned forward with all of my might to keep him locked in a defensive position. Squall never backed down though. As I pushed, he pushed back, and neither of us dared to even flinch. We tried to overpower each other, but I found myself gradually backtracking toward the door.

When my feet touched the grass, I had to take measures to save my pride. I reached my leg out and tripped him. He landed flat on his back, but his gunblade fell from his hands and slid behind him. Squall desperately reached around trying to grab it, but he refused to take his eyes off of me.

This was the moment I never thought would come. At least not this soon. My rival was helpless, and all I had to do was strike. I lifted Hyperion over my head, maintaining my façade of ever-present confidence while I was wracked with dilemma inside.

"This is it, Squall! So long!" I exclaimed.

However, I had a brief moment of hesitation, and my opponent was too good not to capitalize on that. He kicked the open door right into my face, and I briefly cried out in pain. My anguish quickly transformed into rage, and I ripped the door off of its hinges. My mind was blinded for that moment, and I was oblivious to the fact that I had let Squall recover his position.

Coming back to my senses, I let the door drop to the floor. I placed my hand over my nose in an attempt to stem the blood flow, but it was to no avail. I could still feel it profusely pouring down and off my face, so I removed my hand and glanced downward. I silently groaned as I saw the red stains on my trenchcoat. Squall had damaged my prized possession once again.

My adrenaline was still pumping as I narrowed my eyes and stared down my lifelong rival. I was breathing heavily out of my mouth and spitting out my own blood, but that was the only sounds I could hear. All other background distractions had been put out of my mind.

"Quick thinking, but you're only delaying the inevitable!" I boldly exclaimed.

"Your incessant babbling is boring me, Seifer. Do you always have to reassure yourself like that when you're losing?" Squall shot back nonchalantly.

I was stunned. I had never heard him talk smack before. Regaining my composure, I retorted, "Never would've expected to hear something like that outta you, Squall. But if you insist, no more talk! We'll just let our gunblades speak for us!"

I rushed at him and forced him to be on the defensive again. I incessantly attacked him to prevent giving him an opportunity to counter, but I had failed to foresee what could result from this. Abruptly, a bright yellow aura surrounded Squall and knocked me away from him. I knew what was coming; I only hoped I could stop it.

"Renzokuken!" he shouted, activating his limit break.

Then my instincts took over. It was as if Hyperion had taken control as I successfully parried every blow, but the intensity of his desperation attack drove me back to the entrance of the cabin. I had endured all of Squall's most powerful move, but I suddenly found myself stumbling backwards and landing on the grass outside.

I had tripped over the door that I had thrown to the ground in my fury. I quickly scrambled back to my feet, and I struggled to keep from screaming my lungs out in a mixture of frustration and embarrassment. _(No matter what I do, I just can't beat him!)_

I knew I couldn't win in my current state of mind, so I turned to the rest of my party. "Hey! You guys just gonna stand there or what! Get him!" I ordered, but nobody moved. "What did I just say! Get him!"

I walked away from the action without another word as I tried to calm down. I decided to watch from afar off, feeling the need to be alone. I glimpsed up at the sky and noticed that it was overcast. The wind started to blow, and it looked like a storm was approaching.

Selphie was the first to step up to the challenge. She exchanged a few words with Squall, but I didn't pay any attention to what was said. She appeared very timid at first, but the Little Messenger Girl soon picked up the pace. She actually took the early advantage and knocked my rival to the ground with a low sweep of her nunchaku.

It didn't take Squall very long to recover though. Selphie tried to swipe at him with her nunchaku, but it got wrapped around the gunblade. Squall then used his strength as he quickly jerked back with his weapon. She began to stumble and eventually fell to the ground as they untangled.

Both of them quickly got back on their feet, and the exuberant SeeD fully extended her weapon in defense, and the gunblade struck the steel chain. The former commander kicked at Selphie, but she used her raw agility to cartwheel far away from him. I had expected Squall to make short work of her, but the fact that she was able to hold her own earned her some respect in my book.

They both stood still for a moment, but then Selphie attacked him from long range, and he was helpless to do anything other than block with the broad side of his blade. He tried to grab the nunchaku, but she quickly pulled it back to her. Then my teammate began to whirl the nunchaku over her head at a rapid pace, and I wondered what she was trying to accomplish.

Then I saw Squall assume a familiar stance. He held out the gunblade with his right hand, leaving his left hand free. He was obviously preparing for what was about to happen and giving himself a better chance to counter. As soon as she swung at him, he parried and then snatched the end of her weapon an instant afterward. He slowly dragged her toward him, and Selphie refused to let him take her nunchaku.

_(What is she thinking! She's gonna die if she doesn't let go!)_ I thought to myself.

Then out of nowhere, a whip cracked against Squall's wrist, forcing him to relinquish his grip on the nunchaku. Selphie fell to the ground, and then she quickly scurried back to the others as Quistis took her place.

"Sorry, but this is business," she said.

"Then let's get on with it," he replied coolly.

"I never expected that I would be forced to fight my best student."

_(Hmph…What about me? Don't I get any credit?)_

"That's the nature of being a SeeD. You can't choose your enemies," Squall stated.

_(All too true. I know that better than just about anybody.)_

In one smooth motion, my former instructor wrapped her whip around my rival's legs in one smooth motion. Then she yanked back and forced him to the ground. With a ruthless ferocity that I had never seen in her before, Quistis beat him repeatedly across the chest, leaving his white shirt in tattered, blood-stained shreds. I could see the lashes all over his now-exposed and once-smooth skin.

Driven by pure determination, Squall struggled to rise to his feet as she struck him across the back multiple times with a cruelty that a taskmaster would display toward a slave. He wildly slashed in her direction with his gunblade, and by a stroke of luck, the whip wrapped around the blade. He extracted it from Quistis's hands with a swift pull and then charged at her despite having difficulty maintaining his balance. Defenseless, she could do nothing but drop to the ground and wait for the end to come. She bowed her head and closed her eyes, unable to look at Squall as he stood over her, seemingly ready to finish her off.

Then my rival froze upon hearing the sound of a gun clicking behind him. Irvine's rifle was pointing at Squall's back, which was barely covered by the remains of his leather jacket. The stripes left by the popular instructor's whip zigzagged all over his body, and in time they would probably become scars. He had to be going through immense anguish at the moment, although his face didn't reflect it.

"Not so fast, buddy," the sharpshooter quipped. "Back away from Quistis and drop your weapon."

The former SeeD Commander slowly turned around to face him with his gunblade still held firmly in his hand.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be, Squall," the cowboy pleaded. "I don't want to shoot you."

"I won't let you take Rinoa from me! You'll have to kill me first!" he retorted defiantly.

Suddenly, the sound of the Blaster Edge firing behind Irvine forced him to divert his attention. He spun around and spotted the razor-sharp disk coming toward him. He evaded it and quickly attempted to face Squall again, but it was too late. He capitalized on the situation without hesitation. With a powerful downward slash, the gunblade broke his rifle in half, forcing the sharpshooter to back off hastily. He was obviously fatigued, but my rival was still holding his ground. None of the others dared to take him on again.

As for me, I was still viewing this spectacle from afar as I recuperated and regained my cool from round one. I knew I would have the advantage when we battled again. There was no way he could defeat me in his current condition. A brief image flashed in my mind, but it disappeared from thought so quickly that I couldn't figure out what it was. I shook my head as if trying to empty my mind from all distractions and prepared to re-enter the fray.

I heard a deafening crash of thunder, and I looked up at the ominously dark sky, overwhelmed by storm clouds. Not even a single trace of light could escape from their grasp. A torrential downpour ensued, accompanied by fierce winds which pelted my face with large drops of rain. My coattails began flapping uncontrollably and I had to brace myself to avoid losing my balance. I heard waves crashing on the shore behind me, meaning it was not only tough to see, but tough to hear as well.

Despite the adverse weather conditions, I noticed that Zell was trying to apprehend Rinoa. The sheer volume of the storm drowned out her cries for help, and her knight had his back to her while being distracted by the other three SeeDs. She repeatedly fired her Blaster Edge followed by casting low-level spells in an attempt to keep him at bay. It was apparent that she had no intention of harming him, and he was slowly but surely drawing nearer. She was a good fighter, but she stood no chance of beating a SeeD one-on-one, even if it was the Chicken-Wuss. If he could grab the sorceress, Squall would have no choice but to surrender.

I rushed to preoccupy him so that he would not be able to rescue his girlfriend. I moved directly in between Rinoa and him to make sure he got a good view of what was going on. I wanted to make sure he was as strong as he could be. This had the possibility of being our last fight, so I wanted it to be a good one. I wanted his adrenaline pumping. I wanted my rival to give his very best effort. Anything less could not be considered a true victory.

"Get out of my way!" he yelled upon seeing Rinoa. Even though he was in close proximity to me, I could barely hear him. The heavy rain had washed away the blood from his body, revealing the gruesome wounds that he had received from Quistis.

"You gotta go through me first!" I said with a smirk.

"If you insist!" Squall complied with a slice at my chest.

I parried, and then I began baiting him into coming after me. I led him toward the shore and away from Rinoa. For the time being, I was content to stay on the defensive, convinced that he didn't have enough left in him to beat me. Both of us were tentative due to the rain making for unsure footing. Neither of us was willing to risk slipping and leaving himself completely vulnerable. We fought back and forth across the edge of the island with the waves splashing at our feet. With four SeeD members after her now, the sorceress had probably already been captured, but I couldn't afford to stop fighting.

Squall continued to weaken as we fought, and eventually he just stopped attacking. He just didn't have the strength anymore. He looked like he was practically unconscious on his feet. I slashed at him, and he was barely able to raise his gunblade in defense. Somehow the force from the clashing blades shattered his weapon to pieces and knocked him to the ground. Squall was an easy target now, but I was reluctant to act. This wasn't how I had imagined my moment of glory at all. He was completely helpless, and winning like this would be so anti-climactic.

_(It can't end like this…)_ I thought to myself.

Before I even had the chance to decide what I was going to do, we were struck by a large wave. I barely managed to stay on my feet, but before I could even open my eyes, we were hit by another one. The storm had reached a new level of intensity as the ocean mercilessly bombarded us and forced me to my knees. I struggled to breathe, and I could feel the water trying to drag me into its depths. After what seemed like an eternity, the tempest finally subsided and I ran back toward the center of the island, as far away from the sea as I could possibly go on this cay.

Then I stopped when I realized that Squall wasn't following me. I looked back toward the shore, but he was nowhere to be found.

_(I guess he didn't have the energy to escape. Swallowed by a squall…how ironic.)_


End file.
